Catching up: Welcome to Wednesday, intrepid innovators, and the latest installment of your Innovate Long Island newsletter, carrying you from inception to invention to commercialization on this 68th day of 2022.
That means it’s March 9 and the midpoint of another busy workweek, and what better time for an innovation injection?
Stormin’ Gorman: All we see is genius.
Color blind: Before we get to it, a quick shout-out to faithful reader Paul Rubell, the veteran Melville attorney who wrote us after Monday’s calendar newsletter, which referred to brilliant poet Amanda Gorman as “the young African American activist who dazzled at President Joe Biden’s inauguration.”
That description works just as well without the “irrelevant” race reference, according to Rubell. We appreciate the constructive criticism, Paul – and we agree!
New ironsides: Back to March 9, which we restart with a bang – today is Bang-Clang Day, commemorating the 1862 Battle of Hampton Road, a Civil War clash between the Confederate warship Virginia and the Union battleship Monitor that marked the first-ever throwdown between state-of-the-art ironclad vessels.
Fit for a king: Speaking of hardened shells – and outmaneuvering them – today is also National Crabmeat Day, a breakout event for everyone’s favorite crustacean.
Johannes Fabricius: Spot on.
That’s pretty bright: Also breaking through was Dutch astronomer Johannes Fabricius, who made history’s first recorded reference to sunspots on March 9, 1611.
For those keeping score, others had previously noticed sunspots but misidentified them.
That’s rich: Arguably the second-most important document of 1776, Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” was first published on this date 246 years ago today.
That bites: New York City inventor Charles Graham earned a U.S. patent for his modernized artificial teeth, crafted from porcelain, on March 9, 1822.
Other patents issued on this date include one in 1858 for Philadelphia innovator Albert Potts, who locked up the first street mailbox.
That girl: Featuring a statuesque build, cascading blonde waterfall and chic shoes, the Barbie doll debuted on March 9, 1959, at the American Toy Fair in New York City.
That’s a horse of another color: And marking the start of the “muscle car” genre, the first Ford Mustang – predating the Dodge Charger and the Chevy Camaro by years – rolled off the assembly line on this date in 1964.
Hammering away: American crime novelist Frank Morrison “Mickey” Spillane (1918-2006) – who’s sold more than 225 million copies of his hardboiled books, many featuring signature detective Mike Hammer – would be 104 years old today.
Big hit: Lewis, shown cracking up Carson in 1983, turns 51 today.
Also born on March 9 were Italian merchant, explorer and navigator Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512), who gave the New World his given name; American physician Zabdiel Boylston (1676-1766), who introduced smallpox vaccines to the American colonies by inoculating his son; Russian space ace Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968), who truly went where no man had gone before; American chess prodigy-turned-grandmaster Bobby Fischer (1943-2008), who won the U.S. Chess Championship at age 14 and was the first American to win the world title; and retired American Olympian Julia Mancuso (born 1984), whose four Olympic medals (one gold, two silver, one bronze) are the most for any female American alpine skier.
Larger than life: And take a bow, Emmanuel Lewis! The small-statured, big-hearted American actor – known best as sitcom cutie “Webster” and for his numerous commercials and guest shots – turns 51 today.
Wish the ’80s icon well at editor@innovateli.com, where we always reach new heights with your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Whether it’s helping with site selection, cutting through red tape or finding innovative ways to meet specific needs, businesses that settle in the Town of Islip soon learn that we take a proactive approach to seeing them succeed. If your business wants to locate or expand in a stable community with great quality of life, then it’s time you took a closer look at Islip.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Clinithink about it: The massive Northwell Health system hopes to streamline its revenue operations with the help of a global leader in healthcare-focused AI.
New Hyde Park-based Northwell has signed a 10-year deal with London-based software company Clinithink, developer of the CLiX Revenue solution, a groundbreaking “clinical natural language processing” program that can automate initial chart reviews and process millions of documents in hours, instead of days – kickstarting a revenue cycle that’s the lifeblood of the vast Northwell system, which includes millions of annual patients and thousands of providers in 22 hospitals and more than 800 regional outpatient facilities.
By eliminating certain manual reviews and speeding up document processing, the patented CliX technology will help the healthcare behemoth “ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of our patients,” according to Gerard Brogan, Northwell Health’s chief revenue officer. “We know we cannot currently cover all our activity with manual chart review … Northwell recognized the power of clinical [natural language processing] that we could use to assist our revenue-cycle teams.”
Trafficking cops: Baldwin High School won the Medical Marvels competition for the second year in a row.
You look Marvel-ous: An innovative approach to human trafficking – including community coalitions and social media outreach – helped a team of Baldwin High School students defend its crown in a top regional STEM competition.
Medical Marvels, the 10th annual science, technology, engineering and math research competition hosted by the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, welcomed competitors from 18 Nassau and Suffolk schools, who were required to develop educational programs and propose new social services spotlighting the “very real and serious public health issue” of human trafficking. More than 140 students submitted scientific posters, recorded presentations (explaining a “technological component”) and pitched new public-health proposals, with a panel of scientists, clinicians and healthcare administrators evaluating submissions for innovation, clarity and more.
The win marked the second in a row for Baldwin High School, which captured the 2021 Medical Marvels title with its comprehensive gun violence package. “It is important that we encourage the process of discovery and ongoing education,” said Feinstein Institutes President and CEO Kevin Tracey. “By listening to these students, it is clear that the future of STEM and medical research is bright.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 23: Back and forth with Donna Drake.
This week, on a very special episode of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, we proudly present the first-ever Long Island Multimedia Crossover Virtual Extravaganza – both a vodcast on “The Donna Drake Show” and an episode of our shiny podcast series.
Long Island multimedia producer and inspirational television host Donna Drake joins Spark to discuss the rise of the regional media-production industry – and to feature our show on her internationally syndicated newsmagazine. Sponsored by clean-gen pioneer ThermoLift, Season 2 reveals what happens when talk shows collide!
TOP OF THE SITE
American beauty: An ambitious skincare and wellness expert with a strong South Shore following and keen business sense has opened her first North Shore spa.
Take your time: After racing to select a leader who lasted just 16 months, the SUNY Board of Trustees is pacing its latest search for a permanent chancellor.
Helpful hint: Thank you in advance for forwarding this engaging newsletter to your innovation team. If you really want to do them a favor, individual subscriptions are always easy, always free.
VOICES
Ace attorney Michael Sahn, managing member of Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz PLLC, raps, rhymes and winks his way through a comical review of courtroom levity – rare, according to our legal anchor, but always appreciated.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Shutting up: Meet the 99 percent of Americans who don’t watch cable news. Axios identifies the silent majority.
Looking up: Behold, the 50 most innovative companies of 2022. Fast Company honors the inventive.
Pumping up: With Russian oil imports banned, expect spiraling gasoline prices to shoot higher. Reuters feels your pain.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Filtered, a Massachusetts-based job-candidate platform that automates technical interviews, raised $10 million in financing led by AI und, Silicon Valley Data Capital and TDF Ventures.
+ Erthos, an Arizona-based solar-tech company, raised $17 million in Series B funding led by Capricorn Investment Group.
+ Legends of Learning, a Washington-based educational game platform for K-12 students, raised $5 million in seed funding led by Konvoy Ventures, with participation from James Park, Holly Liu, Jeremy Liew and Kun Gao.
+ Luminous Computing, a California-based AI innovator focused on leveraging multiple supercomputers, raised $105 million in a Series A funding. Backers included Gigafund, Bill Gates, 8090 Partners, Neo, Third Kind Venture Capital and Strawberry Creek Ventures, among others.
+ ArrePath, a New Jersey-based biotech developing new anti-infectives to overcome antimicrobial resistance, raised $20 million in seed financing led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Insight Partners, Innospark Ventures, Viva BioInnovator, Arimed Capital, PTX Capital and Nor’easter Ventures.
+ CancerIQ, an Illinois-based cancer detection/prevention innovator, raised $14 million in Series B funding led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Amgen Ventures, McKesson Ventures, OSF Ventures and HealthX 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 (just ask the Islip IDA). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Spring Cleaning Edition)
Just say no: Atheists de-sign LA. (Photo: Religion News Service/Alejandra Molina)
Practical: Innovative products to help you declutter.
Spiritual: Atheists are cleaning up in Los Angeles.
Virtual: Clearing away those digital cobwebs.
Clean living: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Town of Islip Office of Economic Development, which balances work and life to help businesses expand on Long Island. Check them out.
