No. 1079: On big elephants, little innovators and a real momentum builder, with fond milkman memories

 

Hot stuff: Over the hump we go, intrepid innovators – a heated hump, if you will, as we reach the muggy midpoint of another warm workweek.

This has certainly been the balmiest stretch of the Summer on Long Island, but that’s all right: It’s August out there, when heat and humidity are to be expected, and Long Islanders are, by definition, beach people, and we like our weather the same as our socioeconomic innovation: hot and heavy.

Big little world: Today is Wednesday, Aug. 12, and in a further homage to heavy things, we’re kicking off today’s midweek innovation review with a 21-trunk salute to World Elephant Day, trumpeting the appreciation, protection and preservation of the smart and affectionate mammals. (Earth’s largest land animals, for those keeping score.)

We’re also going small – at least, small enough to throw our arms around the UN’s International Youth Day, which shines a light on future generations (including kids with older and younger siblings, stars of the show on National Middle Child Day).

Got milk? Before we get to today’s menu, we raise our glasses to toast National Milkman Day, honoring yesteryear’s dairy delivery dudes, done in by the 20th Century rise of supermarkets, refrigerators and personal automobiles. (For the record, the home delivery of milk and other groceries is on the rise again, thanks to the COVID pandemic and other factors.)

When you place that BJ’s order, don’t forget the potatoes (key to National Julienne Fries Day, crunching on restaurant-quality crisps) and butter (an essential ingredient on National Gooey Butter Cake Day, digging into the Midwestern delight every Aug. 12).

Rattled: Speaking of order (and law), the first American police force mustered on this date in 1658, when the “Rattle Watch” (predecessor of the New York Police Department) formed in New Amsterdam (predecessor of New York City).

Disinfected: More cleaning wounds than cleaning up the streets was University of Glasgow Professor Joseph Lister, who performed the first “antiseptic” operation on Aug. 12, 1865, applying carbolic acid as a disinfectant while setting and dressing a compound leg fracture.

Prototyped: Also on a roll was the very first Ford Model T, which changed the course of automotive (and industrial mass-production) history when it came off its Detroit assembly line on this date in 1908.

Landed: Other historically significant vehicles associated with this date include the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which completed its first independent flight when it glided to a safe touchdown in the Mojave Desert – after piggybacking on a 747 jumbo jet – 49 years ago today.

Computed: And it was Aug. 12, 1981, when IBM introduced its world-changing, open-architecture Personal Computer.

The IBM PC (officially, the IBM 5150 Personal Computer) is credited with generating a software industry that launched computing into the mainstream.

Diamond in the rough: American railroad equipment salesman, financier and philanthropist James Buchanan “Diamond Jim” Brady (1856-1917) – a Gilded Era icon remembered equally for his shady business deals, massive appetites and unparalleled generosity – would be 170 years old today.

Also born on Aug. 12 were American architect Robert Mills (1781-1855), who designed the Washington Monument; American filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959), a visionary director (and occasional actor) credited as a founding father of American cinema; Indian physicist and industrialist Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), the “Father of the Indian Space Program”; Hungarian American investor, philanthropist and political activist George Soros (born 1930), who “broke the Bank of England” before donating more than $32 billion through his Open Society Foundations; and American television personality and actress Youree Dell Harris (1962-2016), who used many aliases during her short life – Ree Perris, Youree Cleomili, Rae Dell Harris, Cleomili Perris Youree and Cleomili Harris, among others – but is remembered best as Psychic Readers Network frontwoman Miss Cleo.

Group therapy: And take a bow, Patrick Bruce “Pat” Metheny! The American jazz guitarist and composer – a master of progressive, contemporary and Latin jazz and 20-time (!) Grammy-winner – turns 72 today.

Whatever you’re doing right now, play this Pat Metheny Group classic and you’ll feel better. Then send a birthday note for the virtuoso to editor@innovateli.com, and tune up some news tips calendar events, while you’re at it.

 

About our sponsor: Presberg Law P.C. is Long Island’s premier “IDA” and business law firm for businesses relocating to and expanding on Long Island. Founded in 1984, this multigenerational practice focuses on the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of commercial and industrial real estate, SBA and other loan transactions, construction projects and business sales and acquisitions.

 

BUT FIRST, THIS

Book of Genesis: Five fresh U.S. Department of Energy grants have solidified Stony Brook University’s position as a national artificial-intelligence and quantum-computing trailblazer.

Stony Brook researchers have secured multiple awards through the DOE’s Genesis Mission, a nationwide AI-for-science initiative designed to accelerate scientific discovery. Nearly $1.68 million will come directly to the university to support collaborations with several DOE laboratories – including nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory – while undisclosed “subawards” will stake SBU’s contributions to an AI-enabled computational physics project led by Johns Hopkins University and a BNL project conducting AI analyses of molten salt chemistry.

The Genesis Mission unites DOE facilities with nationwide academic and industrial partners with an eye on accelerating discovery-level science and next-generation breakthroughs. “[Stony Brook University’s] selection for multiple Genesis Mission awards validates our position as a national leader in expanding the scope, scale and impact of research in science and engineering,” noted Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith. “By rapidly advancing the frontiers of knowledge across scientific disciplines … [the awards] will create new opportunities for our faculty and students while also strengthening American innovation, economic competitiveness and national security.”

Water wins: More than $20 million in grants and interest-free financing is flowing to Long Island through Albany’s latest water-infrastructure-improvement funding round.

The New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. has approved the release of $434 million in state and federal grants and low-cost financing awards, all targeting water- and sewer-infrastructure projects around the state. Provided through a combination of water-focused and environment-focused special funds and grant programs, the funding round targets 23 distinct projects in eight different statewide economic regions, with the lion’s share – $361 million in low-cost financing – earmarked for 11 drinking-water projects in New York City.

On Long Island, $17.6 million in interest-free financing has been allocated for the construction of sludge facilities at the Town of Riverhead’s water-resource recovery facility, while the Suffolk County Water Authority is slated to receive $2.8 million in state grants for the construction of granular-activated carbon-absorption vessels at various wells and pump stations. “Every grant and low-cost loan helps local governments safeguard public health and protect the environment while reducing the impact on household water and sewer bills,” noted Environmental Facilities Corp. President and CEO Maureen Coleman.

 

TOP OF THE SITE

Build up: An influential Long Island developer sees Albany’s new “Let Them Build” law as a big step toward addressing New York’s housing crisis – and rectifying the Island’s desperate rental-housing shortage.

Listen up: Wonderful writers, exemplary executives, energetic entrepreneurs and other learned leaders … “Spark,” Innovate Long Island’s preeminent podcast, shares intimate interviews with the powerful personalities invigorating the innovation economy. New knowledge now!

 

VOICES

Huge marketing budgets can’t compete with a nickel’s worth of ingenuity, according to ZE Creative Communications Executive Vice President and Voices Media Anchor David Chauvin, who shares rock-solid – and eternally entertaining – examples of why quick wit and clever problem-solving are the ultimate messaging tools.

 

STUFF WE’RE READING

Vienna (waits for you): A new national Startup & Scaleup Fund could push Austria to the head of the life sciences class. BioSpace examines economic ecosystems.

Scandinavian skies: Putting it all together in Denmark, where Lego has opened a new global innovation center. Industrial Equipment News pieces it together.

An innocent man: With trumped-up vandalism charges dismissed, a U.S. Olympian reflects on his “Orwellian” ordeal. NPR pools its resources.

 

RECENT FUNDINGS

+ WashWise, a New York City-based clothing-care product line, raised $1.2 million in Pre-seed financing led by FJ Labs, Singh Capital, Alex Jekowsky, Jack Abraham, Brian Tate, Gigi Howard, Nina Farran, Mia Tonelli, Taylor James and Brown Girl Angels, with participation from executives and operators at Pickle, The Business of Fashion, Dior, SoulCycle, Soho House, Apple and J.P. Morgan.

+ Blaze.Tech, a California-based, AI-powered app-building platform for healthcare uses, raised $5 million in Pre-seed funding led by Friale.

+ Remedium Bio, a Massachusetts-based biotech developing durable protein therapeutics, raised $10 million in Series A financing led by Lifespan Vision Ventures, with participation from Eli Lilly and Co. and HKX Capital.

+ Atlas Motion, a California-based manufacturer of high-performance electric motors and actuators for defense platforms, raised $11.5 million in funding led by Greycroft, with participation from Also Capital, Enea Capital, Mana Ventures, Sunflower Capital, Ravelin and defense-tech angel investors Scott Sanders of Forterra and Jai Malik of AMCA.

+ VibeIQ, a Massachusetts-based, AI-native product decision platform for apparel, footwear, consumer-goods brands and private-label retailers, raised $22.5 million in funding led by Volition Capital, with participation from Venture Guides.

+ Sonablate Corp., a North Carolina-based developer of AI-powered precision medicine and image-guided therapeutic-ultrasound technologies, raised $200 million in funding led by Eleven Ventures.

 

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 Presberg Law). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.

 

BELOW THE FOLD (Operation: Greenland! Edition)

Phil in the gaps: Illegal mining equipment – and Dr. Phil? – arrive in Greenland.

Wealth of nations: Make them rich? Greenland already has the stronger national economy.

Shadow realm: Greenland is one of the prime locations to view today’s historic solar eclipse.

Experience preferred: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Presberg Law, which believes in peace (and prosperity) through unrivaled experience and superior legal acumen. Check them out.