Don’t be bitter: It is winter, after all, and Long Island’s brutal cold snap isn’t forecasted to last long.
Not only that, intrepid innovators, but it’s already Wednesday – Jan. 12, to be precise – and we’re halfway through this latest wintry workweek, with roughly 45 percent of us anticipating a three-day holiday weekend ahead. That should warm the cockles!
Jason and the abdomens: Momoa, in the wild.
Hot stuff: Speaking of which, today is the Feast of Fabulous Wild Men, when concerns about objectification and sexual harassment fly out the window and the ogling of hunky, scruffy, brooding men is openly encouraged.
It’s also National Hot Tea Day, which can also warm you.
Curry up: For a different kind of heat, consider National Curried Chicken Day, also celebrated every Jan. 12.
See right through them: Facing some heat were three Davidson College students who bribed their way into a closed physics laboratory on Jan. 12, 1896, even though they wound up capturing America’s first X-ray photograph.
Always thinking: This is a big date for invention generally, and the Wizard of Menlo Park specifically. In addition to his famous Phonograph (1897), Thomas Edison scored U.S. patents on Jan. 12 for his Electrode for Telephone Transmitters (1886), Waterproofing Paint for Portland Cement Buildings (1909), Waterproofing Fibers and Fabrics (also 1909) and Method and Means for Improving the Rendition of Musical Compositions (1919).
Also issued on Jan. 12, 1897, was a non-Edison patent covering a useful Extension Step for Cars, earned by New York inventor Gustav Langkans.
Old school: Featuring the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner, “Marvel Comics No. 1” was the first comic book produced by Timely Comics.
Earth’s richest heroes: The $5 billion multimedia empire came later – but Timely Comics, more than two decades before it would be rebranded as Marvel, was founded on Jan. 12, 1939.
For those keeping score, Stan Lee was a 17-year-old office assistant at the start, working for publisher Martin Goodman.
Holy opening night! In other caped crusading news, “Batman” – the ultra-campy, ultra-cool Adam West version – first slid down the Batpole on this date in 1966 (with extra special guest villain Frank Gorshin!).
And you thought January was cold: And while technically unrelated to Bat-villains, James Bedford became Mr. Freeze 55 years ago today – the first human cryonically frozen (and indefinitely stored) in the hopes that technology will one day revive him.
Gas, gas, gas: Belgian natural philosopher, chemist, physician and physiologist Jan Baptista van Helmont (1579-1644) – who coined the word “gas” and rejected the Aristotelian idea that earth, air, fire and water are “elements,” while founding pneumatic chemistry – would be 443 years old today.
Wrinkle in time: Benerito, hard-pressed.
Also born on Jan. 12 were iconic French author Charles Perrault (1628-1703), who penned “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty” and other foundational fairy tales; Belgian-French inventor Étienne Lenoir (1822-1900), who devised the world’s first commercially successful internal-combustion engine; Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov (1903-1960), who led development of the USSR’s first atomic bomb; Soviet rocket engineer Sergey Korolev (1907-1966), remembered as the father of the USSR’s early space program; and wrinkle-free American chemist Ruth Benerito (1916-2013), a wash-and-wear pioneer.
Amazon-ing: And take a bow, Jeffrey Preston Bezos! The American entrepreneur, media mogul, investor and computer engineer – known best as the founder of e-commerce giant Amazon, and the world’s richest person – turns 58 today.
Wish the billionaire astronaut well at editor@innovateli.com, where we measure wealth in news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Northwell Health is New York’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, 750 outpatient facilities and 70,000-plus employees. We’re making research breakthroughs at the Feinstein Institute and training the next generation of medical professionals at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra/Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Visit Northwell.edu.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Fresh from the oven: Adequate supplies of COVID-blocking facemasks (including common N95 respirator masks) remain a concern in year three of the Age of Coronavirus – putting a premium on convenient and effective methods for disinfecting reusable masks.
To that end, a new study confirms the efficacy of “dry-heat disinfecting” in ovens set to 100 degrees Celsius. Led by Stony Brook University researchers, the study – published this month in PLOS One, the Public Library of Science’s peer-reviewed open-access journal – used X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy and other fine-tuned methods to test masks post-decontamination, and “demonstrated that treatment of N95 facemasks using dry heat was sufficient to inactivate COVID-19,” according to lead author Kenneth Shroyer, pathology chairman at SBU’s Renaissance School of Medicine.
Other disinfection methods – including treatment with hydrogen peroxide vapor – may be equally effective but are not usually available in hospitals or clinical-care facilities, the authors note, let alone non-professional settings. Stony Brook’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Institute for Electrochemically Stored Energy and School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences all contributed to the work, along with Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials.
On CALL: Westbury High School and SUNY Old Westbury students get their science on.
Water marks: Students from SUNY Old Westbury and Westbury High School got their feet wet this fall – literally – on potential science-based careers.
And they provided a valuable community service along the way – part and parcel of SUNY Old Westbury’s Community Action, Learning and Leadership Program, which joined forces here with the college’s Science and Technology Entry Program, the Town of Hempstead Department of Conservation and Waterways and the Westbury High School Panthers. The Fall 2021 program saw students conducting water-quality experiments at Forest City Park, Twin Ponds Reserve and other regional sites, testing pH levels, tracking coliform bacteria and otherwise measuring local watershed quality.
The students – a fraction of the 10,000-plus collegians and high schoolers who’ve completed 750,000 hours of “community engagement” through the CALL program since 2007, according to SUNY Old Westbury – also emphasized teamwork, community-building skills and multi-organizational collaboration. “Our hope was to interest students that both were science majors and those without that interest,” noted CALL Associate Director Hugh Fox. “We wanted to connect them not only to the science behind this work but also to the social-justice and environmental-justice issues that impact the Long Island community.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 19: Timothy Sams, smiling for a reason.
A long career focused on liberal-arts education and social causes had Timothy Sams well prepared to lead SUNY Old Westbury, even during a crushing pandemic. Now a full year into his tenure, the busy president joins Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast to discuss the critical importance of shaping young minds – and the fine art of strategic change.
Sponsored by ThermoLift – which has mastered the higher education of sustainable energy – Season 2 adds another intriguing chat with an innovative Long Island leader. Try to keep up!
TOP OF THE SITE
Quick results: With Omicron shattering COVID infection records, New York State has wasted no time approving Applied DNA’s new rapid-testing assay.
Clean living: An ambitious green-hydrogen project will heat homes and fuel vehicles in the Town of Hempstead – big steps on the regional road to net zero.
Always easy, always free: Remember those CD-of-the-month clubs that started with eight CDs for a penny and wound up with a collection agency breathing down your neck? Innovate Long Island newsletter subscriptions are way better.
VOICES
Human trafficking is not just a border-state or big-city problem – it’s already a crisis on Long Island, and it’s getting worse. Family and Children’s Association President and CEO Jeffrey Reynolds applauds those fighting this modern-day indentured servitude and shares thoughtful suggestions on how we can all help.
STUFF WE’RE READING
House money: Housing lotteries offer high-end rental units to low-income New Yorkers. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the Long Island City Post take their chances.
Mega millions: Tricks and tips for driving innovation in the era of “mega-trends.” Geektime gets clever.
Lotto disappointment: Think winning the lottery fixes everything? Think again. The Liverpool Echo lives to regret it.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ RoadRunner Recycling, a Pennsylvania-based sustainable waste-management solutions provider, raised $70 million in Series D funding led by BeyondNetZero and General Atlantic.
+ AN2 Therapeutics, a California-based clinical-stage biopharma developing infectious-disease treatments, completed an $80 million Series B redeemable convertible preferred-stock financing led by RA Capital Management.
+ HawkEye 360, a Virginia-based space-based radio-frequency data and analytics innovator, raised a $5 million investment from Leidos.
+ SalioGen Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech developing a new category of genetic medicines, completed a $115 million Series B financing co-led by GordonMD Global Investments and EPIQ Capital Group.
+ Armgo Pharma, a Tarrytown-based therapeutics company developing small-molecule treatments for cardiac, musculoskeletal and neurological disorders, closed a $35 million financing round led by Forbion, with participation from Pontifax and Kurma Partners.
+ Labrador Systems, a Nevada-based robotics company developing assistive automatons, raised an additional $3.1 million in seed funding co-led by Amazon’s Alexa Fund and iRobot Ventures, with participation from SOSV and Grep VC.
BELOW THE FOLD (The In Crowd Edition)
Bottled up: The smell of old booze and regret.
In the moment: Your business might be ready to diversify and expand.
In memoriam: Corporate leadership is dead. Long live corporate leadership.
Inescapable: Science makes it official – there’s no such thing as a hangover cure.
The doctor is in: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including Northwell Health, where innovation is always in effect. Check them out.
