No time to waste: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we hustle through this bustling workweek and drive deeper into the transitional autumnal season.
It’s Oct. 6 already, and we’re knee-deep in the busiest stretch of the year, so let’s get cracking – innovation waits for no one!
String theory: A good day to learn about noodles.
Won’t be fooled: To start, a foodie lesson noting that not all noodles are “traditional pasta” cut from unleavened dough – some are fashioned from rice, chickpeas and even root vegetables.
A fun fact to consider on National Noodle Day, celebrating oodles of noodles this and every Oct. 6.
Won’t be fooled, again: Today is also National Orange Wine Day, celebrating an obscure winemaking process that results in a bold auburn color – but has absolutely nothing to do with oranges.
First and three: A trifecta of interesting observations also mark the first Wednesday in October – it’s National Walk to School Day (a spinoff of May’s National Bike to School Day), National Pumpkin Seed Day (a natural for the season) and National Coffee With a Cop Day (promoting community support along the Thin Blue Line).
Sound test: Crossing the color line, some say, was the 1927 feature “The Jazz Singer,” which infamously featured performer Al Jolson in blackface – but controversies aside, the film’s Oct. 6 New York City premiere marked the first feature-length “talkie.”
Important import: Without the Ohio Art Co. — founded 113 years ago today — the Etch-a-Sketch might not have come to America.
Rough sketch: Speaking of crossed lines, the Ohio Art Co. – which would introduce the uber-popular German creation Etch-a-Sketch to American audiences some 50 years later – was founded on this date in 1908.
Radio flyer: Also altering the course of global entertainment was American electrical engineer and FM radio inventor Edwin Armstrong, who patented his famous regenerative circuit – known as the Wireless Receiving System – on Oct. 6, 1914.
When science ruled: Coming through loud and clear was Polish-American medical researcher Albert Sabin, who announced his oral polio vaccine – the eventual key to eradicating the deadly disease – was ready for mass testing 65 years ago today.
Spoiler alert: The vaccine worked – and without delusional rabblerousers peddling nonsense, nobody complained about their infringed personal rights.
Galaxy quest: And it was this date in 1995 when scientists announced the discovery of the first exoplanet (a planet outside our Solar System) orbiting a yellow dwarf star similar to our own Sun – planet 51 Pegasi b, a gas giant nestled just 50 lightyears away in the constellation Pegasus.
For the record, the first exoplanets were officially confirmed in 1992: two worlds orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12, located a hefty 2,300 lightyears away.
The mighty Thor: Norwegian ethnologist, author and explorer Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002) – the adventurer who led the historic Kon-Tiki and Ra transoceanic scientific expeditions, proving the likelihood of ancient transoceanic contact between distant civilizations – would be 107 years old today.
Current events: The electrifying George Westinghouse Jr.
Also born on Oct. 6 were American engineer George Westinghouse Jr. (1846-1914), an all-time entrepreneur credited with pioneering the electrical industry; American-Canadian railroad magnate Thomas Shaughnessy (1853-1923); Canadian electrical engineer Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932), the “father of voice radio” and progenitor of 300-plus patents; American biochemist Florence Seibert (1897-1991), who significantly advanced tuberculosis testing and intravenous drug therapy; and Irish physicist Ernest Walton (1903-1995), who earned a Nobel Prize for co-developing the first manmade nuclear particle reactor.
Webb slinger: And take a bow, Kathleen Webb! The American cartoonist – one of the first and most famous women comic-book writer/artists, a circa-1980s standout at Archie Comics – turns 65 today.
Wish the cartoon queen well at editor@innovateli.com, where we draw endless inspiration from your news tips and calendar events.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Nada Anid: Educator, executive, mentor, friend.
In memoriam: Long Island has lost one of its great innovators, mentors and friends, with the passing of New York Institute of Technology Vice President of Strategic Communications and External Affairs Nada Anid.
Anid, co-founder and board member of New York Tech’s Women’s Technology Council, was the first woman to serve as dean of the institute’s College of Engineering and Computing Sciences. A tireless advocate of young women in the STEM fields, she played an intricate role in elevating the Old Westbury/New York City-based institution to global stature, spearheading the creation of the NSA/DHS National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education, the state-funded Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center and a NYSTAR-certified business incubator, and securing millions of dollars in funding – key to attracting high-caliber students and faculty.
Anid – one of the first interviews for fledgling Innovate Long Island back in 2015, frequently featured since then – is survived by her husband, Paul, and her daughters, Ingrid and Audrée, and mourned by thousands throughout the Long Island innovation community and beyond. Her family has established the Nada Anid Scholarship Fund to support women in STEM and keep her spirit alive; more information here.
Trains of thought: Northwell Health’s scientific research mecca continues to attract significant federal funding, with another $1.5 million thrown onto the pile – this time, earmarked for a “rigorous training program in translational immunology.”
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research announced the multi-year National Institutes for Health grant Oct. 3, noting the $1.5 million will fund the training of two pre-doctoral and one post-doctoral candidate at the Institute of Molecular Medicine. Preparing future doctors for careers in immune disease-focused medical research is critical – “Scientific advancements require training up-and-coming scientists,” noted Feinstein Institutes President and CEO Kevin Tracey – and the addition of this latest federal grant will bolster that important mission, according to Institute of Molecular Medicine Professor Anne Davidson.
The new grant follows two NIH multi-year stipends announced in August – a $1.3 million grant to study neuro-immune signaling and a $2.9 million grant focused on in-vitro fertilization. “Through the support of the NIH, we are investing in the future of our science,” Davidson said. “And specifically, in smart, dedicated young investigators who may one day help cure some of the most serious diseases.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 4: James Hayward, DNA for effort.
Here it comes, dear listeners – Season 2 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast is in the studio and speeding toward Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other choice podcasting platforms. Watch for the season premier later this month … and before it lands, make sure you catch with the intriguing guests and engaging conversations of Season 1, now streaming in its entirety.
TOP OF THE SITE
Their own private Amazon: A Long Beach-based startup is helping other regional small businesses survive by facilitating same-day product deliveries across Long Island.
Heal thyself: A fast, cheap, self-administered coronavirus test – now available for Northwell Health employees, and soon the public – may be a COVID game-changer.
Keep up: Our massive newsletter archive always includes the latest editions, but the best way to track the region’s rapidly evolving innovation economy is with your own Innovate Long Island newsletter subscription – always easy, always free.
VOICES
The headline-making Gabby Petito murder underscores a desperate need to do better, as a society, teaching young men not to be abusers, according to Voices social services anchor Jeffrey Reynolds, whose latest exploration offers several constructive suggestions.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Kirk in spaaaaace: William Shatner’s real-life star trek is the latest in a long line of over-the-top marketing stunts – and not nearly the wackiest. Cheapism boldly goes.
Magnificent seven: Behold, seven steps to drive lasting innovation. Fast. Co. embraces the heptagon.
Meet the meta: What is the metaverse, and why should you care? The Verge jacks in.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Novos, a New York City-based longevity supplements brand, raised $3.15 million in pre-seed financing led by Resolute Ventures, Arkitekt Ventures, Longevitytech, Awesome People Ventures and 20 institutional investors.
+ DroneSeed, a Washington State-based climate tech and post-wildfire reforestation innovator, raised $36 million in Series A funding led by Social Capital, Seven Seven Six, DBL Partners, Resilience Reserve, TIME Ventures and HBS Lady Angels, among others.
+ Spudsy, a California-based food company that upcycles imperfect sweet potatoes into plant-based snacks, closed a $3.3 million Series A funding led by KarpReilly and Stage 1 Fund.
+ Cleancult, a NYC-based sustainable-cleaning brand using plant-based ingredients and zero-waste packaging, closed a $25 million Series B funding round. Investors included Reynolds Channel, Anchor Capital, Box Group, Vanterra Capital, Blue Scorpion Investments, Hartbeat Ventures and Rachel Zoe Ventures.
+ GrayMatter Robotics, the California-based creator of smart robotics for sanding, spraying and other surface-treatment tasks, raised $4.1 million in seed funding co-led by Stage Venture Partners and Calibrate Ventures, with participation from 3M Ventures, OCA Ventures, Pathbreaker Ventures and B Capital Group.
+ Expansion Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech focused on oral medicines for severe RNA-mediated diseases, closed an $80 million Series B financing led by Cormorant Asset Management, with participation from Westlake Village BioPartners, Surveyor Capital, Logos Capital, RA Capital Management, 5AM Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Sanofi Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund.
BELOW THE FOLD
Not good: This week’s social media outage proved problematic, for multiple reasons.
On the outs: How Ronald McDonald became persona non hamburga.
On the outage: What this week’s social media blackout tells us about ourselves.
On the outside, looking in: How spending time outdoors improves mental health.
Inside track: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including New York Tech, where hearts are heavy this week, but the path to a bright future remains clear. Check them out (and rest in peace, Nada).
