Break in the action: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as the last action-packed workweek before the hectic holiday season rumbles to its manic midpoint.
Yes, next week is Thanksgiving week (including what is basically America’s only sanctioned four-day weekend). As such, Innovation Command has decreed there shall be no e-newsletters on Nov. 24, 26 or 28 – so please enjoy your regular allotment this week, then we’ll be back at you on Monday, Dec. 1, to kick off 2025’s home stretch. Another reminder Friday.
Nothing fancy: But where would we be without you?
Lots to learn: Here on Nov. 19, we’re kicking things off with a pledge of allegiance to Education Support Professionals Day, reminding us that teachers aren’t the only ones facilitating our kids’ schooling – and doubling down on the importance of janitors, bus drivers, “lunch ladies” and everyone else making our schools tick (especially important with this insanity afoot).
Meanwhile, we’re male-ing it in on International Men’s Day, promoting men’s health, encouraging father figures to raise intelligent and respectful boys and otherwise embracing the positivity most men bring to their families and communities.
Bowled over: We’re also flush with excitement about World Toilet Day, a global celebration of (arguably) humanity’s greatest (and most hygienic) achievement.
And we’re enjoying some “pop” culture on National Carbonated Beverage With Caffeine Day, a Nov. 19 thirst-quencher inviting us to snap-fizz the cap off of a Mountain Dew, a Jolt Cola and every sweet and bubbly energy booster in between.
Getty to the point: Don’t know if he had a Coke and a smile first, but President Abraham Lincoln absolutely delivered his famous Gettysburg Address on this date in 1863 – remarkably short and sweet, especially considering its elite ranking among history’s greatest speeches.
It all adds up: Also keeping things short was the “Improvement in Calculating Machines” patented on Nov. 19, 1872, by Boston-based inventor Edmund Barbour – a quantum leap that could perform multiplication and print its answers.
The Italian connection: Longer distances were in play on this date in 1911, when master Italian innovator Guglielmo Marconi sent a telegram from Palazzina Marconi, his laboratory outside Bologna, directly to the offices of The New York Times – inaugurating what was, at the time, the world’s most powerful radio station.
Pop quiz: Who really invented Pop Tarts? Where were they actually introduced? Questions linger.
Tart start: The Kellogg Co. connected directly with customers 61 years ago today, when it introduced the nation to Pop Tarts (and really screwed rival Post Consumer Brands along the way).
Synchronized stop: And it was Nov. 19, 1990, when sensational pop music performers Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus were stripped of their Grammy Award for Best New Artist, after it was determined they didn’t actually sing on their debut studio album.
“Milli Vanilli” remains unmistakable code for lip-synching trickery, record-industry fraud and other highly publicized BS.
Hiram Bingham and the Secret of Machu Picchu: American academic, explorer, archeologist and politician Hiram Bingham III (1875-1963) – an “Indiana Jones” template and Harvard University PhD who discovered the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu and later served in the U.S. Senate – would be 150 years old today.
A moment of Clarice: Jodie Foster reports no friction with “Lambs” co-star Anthony Hopkins.
Also born on Nov. 19 were 20th United States President James Garfield (1831-1881), an anti-corruption icon gunned down just six months into his term; Russian linguist, epigraphist and ethnologist Yuri Knorozov (1922-1999), known best for deciphering Mayan hieroglyphs; American talk-show host, author and philanthropist Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger, 1933-2021), a multiple Emmy Award-winner and 2012 Cable Hall of Fame inductee; American entrepreneur, television producer, media mogul and philanthropist Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III (born 1938), who founded the first 24-hour cable news channel; and American actress, director and producer Alicia Christian “Jodie” Foster (born 1962), who got along just fine with Anthony Hopkins on the set of “The Silence of the Lambs,” thank you very much.
Flies like a girl: And take a bow, Eileen Marie Collins! The United States Air Force colonel and retired NASA astronaut – the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle and the first to command a Space Shuttle mission – turns 69 today.
Salute the colonel – who earned a Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Force Commendation Medal (with oak leaf cluster) and a dozen other special honors during her illustrious career – at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events blast us into the stratosphere.
About our sponsor: At Nixon Peabody, we deliver sophisticated legal services to our clients and our communities by combining high performance, entrepreneurial spirit, deep engagement and an unwavering commitment to a culture of collaboration, diversity and humanity. Visit NixonPeabody.com.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Intelligent move: The time has come to embrace the educational advantages afforded by AI, according to SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy Sams.
AI is here: SUNY Old Westbury is all-in on AI.
The State University of New York at Old Westbury has announced a campus-wide artificial intelligence initiative that will integrate AI across all instruction, research and university operations – with the ethical and supportive education of undergraduates, the strategic targeting of new AI applications and the consistent construction of new AI infrastructure topping a long priorities list. The initiative outpaces an updated SUNY education framework recognizing AI as an “information literacy core competency,” set to kick in with the Fall 2026 semester.
Announced Nov. 12 during the school’s inaugural Founders’ Day program, the comprehensive AI strategy embraces an exponential technology that’s already proliferating across education and industry, according to SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy Sams. “Quite simply, AI is here and we all must learn and adapt it as a tool of opportunity for everyone,” Sams noted. “With the growing demand for AI literacy from employers and students, we will integrate AI fluency alongside the critical thinking skills and ethical values we have long taught as a liberal arts institution.”
You’re where? On Long Island, of course, and the region’s only accredited destination-marketing organization wants you to make the most of it.
Fresh off an Autumn tourism campaign that encouraged East Coast travelers to fly in for Fall festivities, Discover Long Island has rolled out You Are Here, a Winter campaign celebrating cultures and communities and encouraging residents to discover seasonal treasures in their own backyards. The campaign – a comprehensive print, digital, broadcast and social media effort featuring authentic local voices and loads of info on regional Winter events and experiences – includes partnerships with local news and media outlets, with targeted advertising, geofencing and local radio placements all in play.
Focusing on four specific “messaging pillars” – nature, community, culture and flavor – You Are Here is “more than a campaign,” according to Discover Long Island Interim President and CEO Mitch Pally. “It’s a call to action for Long Islanders to support the small businesses, cultural institutions and local landmarks that shape who we are,” Pally noted. “Long Island isn’t just where we live, it’s a part of our identity.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 59: Mark Grossman, voice(s) of reason.
Ace communicator, seasoned political appointee, veteran educator and bona fide funnyman Mark Grossman joins “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” to discuss the art of government relations, the state of national media, the thrill of working for one of New York’s greatest governors and the unmatched high of landing a joke on stage.
TOP OF THE SITE
Full moon: The regional innovation economy was howling at The Wolf Den, the first of several economic-development collaborations planned by Stony Brook University and Accelerate Long Island.
Keeps on giving: Your innovation team’s had a super year – how to reward them and maintain momentum? Well, Innovate Long Island’s thrice weekly newsletters are fun and full of useful information on regional and national economies … and in case we never mentioned it, subscriptions are always easy, always free.
VOICES
Family and Children Services President and CEO Jeffrey Reynolds is happy to report real progress in New York State’s ongoing war against opioid-overdose deaths – but net-zero overdose deaths cannot be achieved, according to the Voices social services anchor, without social justice, comprehensive healthcare and boundless compassion.
Something you’d like to add? The Entrepreneur’s Edge is open for business! Innovate Long Island’s promoted-content platform provides a direct link from startups, established corporations and nonprofits to our forward-thinking audience – your future clients. Progressive product to promote? Singular service to sell? Sociopolitical position to push? Here’s your chance to shine a bright light on the big picture, the little details and everything in between, from the perspective of your innovation-focused enterprise. Learn more here!
STUFF WE’RE READING
You ain’t seen nothing … yet? Congress has spoken, but many doubt the Epstein Files will ever be released in full. USA Today remains unconvinced.
Fitness challenge: Dueling innovations are battling it out for the right to define the future of the personal fitness industry. Forbes works out.
Say it ain’t Skattebo: An injured football player is taking a beating after mixing it up with WWE superstars. Bleacher Report takes sides.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Gridware, a California-based grid-technology manufacturer focused on electrical transmission and distribution safety and reliability, raised $55 million in Growth funding led by Tiger Global and Generation Investment Management, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Convective Capital, Fifty Years, True Ventures, Lowercarbon and Y Combinator.
+ Skeletalis, a Massachusetts-based pharmaceuticals developer focused on next-generation musculoskeletal therapies, raised $8 million in funding led by Pillar VC, with participation from KdT Ventures, age1 and Slocum Management.
+ No Barrier, a California-based, artificial intelligence-powered, real-time medical-translation specialist, raised $2.7 million in Seed funding led by A-Squared Ventures, Esplanade Ventures, Rock Health Capital and Fusion.
+ PowerLattice, a Washington State-based energy and computational-power provider focused on supporting AI infrastructure, raised $25 million in Series A funding. Backers included Playground Global and Celesta Capital.
+ Backflip, a North Carolina-based fintech focused on real estate, raised $10 million in Equity funding led by FirstMark Capital, LiveOak Venture Partners and Vertical Venture Partners.
+ TandemAI, a New York City-based drug discovery company enhancing the discovery process with generative AI, quantum mechanics, a SaaS platform and other physics-based modeling, closed a $22 million Series A Extension. Backers included KHK Fund and V-Capital.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know – on Long Island, and soon, across New York State (just ask Nixon Peabody). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Again With The Damned Interstellar Comet Edition)
Hot streak: People can’t stop talking about interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS.
Strange tales: It’s still probably not ETs – but Avi Loeb’s list of anomalies keeps growing.
Good news: The interstellar flyby delivered a win for future planetary defenses.
Ancient alien: 3I/ATLAS is almost twice as old as the Solar System itself.
Shining star: The comet will leave the Solar System forever in January – but the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island will keep on keeping on, including Nixon Peabody, where sophistication and collaboration always achieve a higher orbit. Check them out.
