The days can’t be like the nights: The back of our necks (are) getting dirty and gritty, dear readers, and it’s hotter than a match head as we work our way through another blazing summer workweek.
Despite the heat, it’ll be alright … now taking the stage, just to help you tap your toes through today’s newsletter, please welcome The Lovin’ Spoonful!
Dive right in: If your local dive bar survived the pandemic, today is a good day for a visit.
Where everybody knows your name: It’s July 7 out there, when we raise a glass to National Dive Bar Day, an annual salute to neighborhood watering holes.
Now that’s Italian (kinda): Referencing a very particular pasta – found often in cold salads and cheesy casseroles – July 7 is also National Macaroni Day.
For dessert, a virtually impossible choice – it’s both National Strawberry Sundae Day and World Chocolate Day. (We say: Why limit yourself unnecessarily?)
We like Ike: Not content to limit himself was all-time English genius Sir Isaac Newton, who earned his master’s degree from Cambridge University on July 7, 1668 – the same year he built the first reflecting telescope.
Don’t leave home without it: The “traveler’s cheque” was patented on this date in 1891 by American Express Co. employee Marcellus Berry.
For those keeping score, even in the age of plastic and digital commerce, traveler’s checks are still in play – and while many companies offer them, only American Express and Visa traveler’s cheques still embrace the British spelling.
Rocket man: Speaking of patents that really took off, American spaceflight pioneer Robert Goddard earned his first rocket patent 107 years ago today.
Stop right there: The Hoover Dam, still in the flow.
Dam it: Construction of the Hoover Dam, still essential to flood control along the lower Colorado River, began on this date in 1930.
Named for 31st U.S. President Herbert Hoover, a committed conservationist who first pushed the project as secretary of commerce, the largest dam of its time would take five years to build.
Head of the class: And forever changing the worlds of mass production and machine repair, a new kind of cross-grooved screw – and a new screwdriver required to spin it – were patented on July 7, 1936, by Oregon inventor Henry Phillips.
Nettie gain: American geneticist Nettie Marie Stevens (1861-1912) – who discovered sex chromosomes, performed some of her best research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and was one of the first women to distinguish herself in the biological sciences – would be 160 years old today.
Super Starr: Ringo, when he was fab.
Also born on this date were Swiss astronomer Johann Rudolf Wolf (1816-1893), who taught us how to spot sunspots; American psychologist Lillien Jane Martin (1851-1943), who overcame sexism and ageism to leave a lasting psychological legacy; American innovator Otto Rohwedder (1880-1960), whose best invention was literally the best thing since sliced bread; Negro League and Major League Baseball standout Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige (1906-1982), a 1971 inductee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and English embryologist Sir Ian Wilmut (born 1944), who led the team that produced Dolly the cloned sheep in 1996.
All Starr: And take a bow, Sir Richard Starkey! The English musician, singer, songwriter and actor known best as Ringo Starr turns 81 today.
Wish the immortal Beatle well at editor@innovateli.com, where even After All These Years, we get by With a Little Help From [Our] Friends – and you know It Don’t Come Easy without your news tips and calendar events (we also appreciate a good Photograph).
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Agree to degree: Three new advanced-degree programs will prepare New York Institute of Technology students for in-demand 21st century careers, while solidifying the university’s rep as a top regional polytechnic.
New York Tech has created programs offering a PhD in Engineering and an MBA in Business Analytics – both available to students at its Old Westbury and Manhattan campuses – and a master’s degree in Public Health, offered online. The university cites U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics projecting “significant growth” in engineering-related fields, the “impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic” and the critical role of analytics “in both thriving and challenging economies” as factors in its new degree programs.
Applications for what Provost Junius Gonzales called the “future-focused academic offerings” are now being accepted for the Fall 2021 semester. “[The new programs] underscore our continued commitment to educating the next generation of highly trained professionals, problem-solvers and visionaries,” noted Gonzales, also New York Tech’s vice president for academic affairs. “[The new degrees] will ensure our students’ success by equipping them with the knowledge and experiences required to innovate, heal and lead in our ever-changing world.”
Screen gem: The Town of Hempstead and Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital are offering free sunscreen for the fourth straight year.
Another bright idea: With summer temperatures spiking and throngs seeking relief at municipal pools and sandy beaches, the Town of Hempstead is once again providing free sunscreen for sol worshippers.
For the fourth straight summer, the town is partnering with Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital – Long Island flagship of the New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System – on the free-sunscreen program, which has been expanded for 2021. Dispensers will keep the SPF 30 goop flowing at more than a dozen public pools, as well as entrances to Atlantic Beach East, Point Lookout Beach, Lido Park Beach, Lido West Beach and other public seashores (full list here).
Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin called the enlarged annual effort “vitally important,” while Mount Sinai South Nassau Chief Medical Officer Adhi Sharma referenced an “essential” health-and-safety program. “Mount Sinai South Nassau’s promise to the communities and residents of the South Shore is to ensure that they always have convenient access to high-quality, compassionate medical and healthcare services,” Sharma noted. “This program is a small but important example of our enduring commitment to fulfilling that promise.”
POD PEOPLE
Adrienne Esposito: Or as we like to call her, “Episode 3.”
From Long Island’s most influential C-suites to its busiest universities to its next-generation laboratories, Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast picks the brains of socioeconomic leaders and rockets along the cutting edge of regional innovation. Catch up with our amazing Season 1 lineup, right now!
TOP OF THE SITE
Testing the TC3: ThermoLift’s breakthrough heat-pump technology is ready to ace a year-long, weather-variable field test in British Columbia.
Can’t afford not to: Work has begun on a largely government-funded development that will bring dozens of sorely needed affordable-housing units to the Glen Cove waterfront.
Summer schooling: Innovation is always in session with Innovate Long Island’s engaging and entertaining newsletters – class up your entire innovation team with their own individual subscriptions, always tuition-free!
VOICES
Innovation is waiting to be found at every level of virtually every organization, according to communications consultant, former Northwell Health Senior Vice President/Chief Public Relations Officer and Voices healthcare anchor Terry Lynam – and Northwell can prove it.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Pause and effect: A mid-year gut check for corporate leaders. Forbes looks within.
Carbon copy: With $9 billion on the table, New York is looking to lead the “carbontech” revolution. Dezeen digs deep.
Reverse commute: Remote workers are leaving big cities, but they’re not heading where you might think. Vox tracks them down.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Gympass, the New York City-based provider of a corporate wellbeing platform, raised $220 million in funding. Backers included Softbank, General Atlantic, Moore Strategic Ventures, Kaszek and Valor Capital Group.
+ Psilera, a Florida-based biotech specializing in the clinical development of psychedelics and analogues targeting central nervous system disorders. raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Iter Investments, with participation from Baird, JLS Fund, Receptor, What If Ventures and others.
+ SeekOps, a Texas-based energy-tech company providing sensors and actionable analytics to support decarbonization efforts, closed a $14 million Series B funding round led by Schlumberger, with participation from Equinor Ventures, OGCI Climate Investments and new investor Caterpillar Venture Capital.
+ Age of Learning, a California-based tech firm focused on digital learning products, raised $300 million in funding led by TPG, with participation from the Qatar Investment Authority and Madrone Capital Partners.
+ Sagetech Avionics, a Washington State-based avionics-solutions provider focused on unmanned aerial systems, raised $12 million in funding led by Due West Partners.
+ RapidPulse, a Florida-based medical device company developing an aspiration system to treat ischemic stroke, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Santé Ventures, with participation from Epidarex Capital, Hatteras Venture Partners, Broadview Ventures and Syntheon.
BELOW THE FOLD (Robot Apocalypse Edition)
Wing and a prayer: AI-enabled military drones can select their own targets.
Skin in the game: Self-repairing “artificially innervated foam” lets robotic hands mimic the sense of touch.
Didn’t see that coming: Automatons aren’t taking our jobs – it’s actually much worse.
Death from above: Autonomous killer drones are real and already in the air.
Human touch: Before the robot overlords come for us all, please continue supporting the amazing companies that support Innovate Long Island – including BrandStoryCasting, where flesh-and-blood geniuses can breathe life into your new podcast. Check them out.
