Running warm: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as we cross into the second half of a busy autumnal workweek – crisp air, heated political debate, red-hot innovation, all that good stuff.
Supertonic: Gin up today, responsibly.
Friendly reminder: It’s a bright and cheery Oct. 19 on Long Island, delivering National New Friends Day (promoting fresh connections), National Unity Day (an anti-bullying spotlight) and International Pronouns Day (much more than a grammar lesson).
Gin and bear it: Today is also International Gin and Tonic Day, with less quinine than the old days, making it a tastier salute to Britain’s most enduring cocktail.
And it’s Dress Like a Dork Day, which might not mix well with International Gin and Tonic Day.
In the house: Doubt it was a G&T, but they surely raised a glass to the first African Americans elected to the U.S. House of Representatives – Joseph Rainey, Robert Delarge and Robert Elliott, who won three of South Carolina’s four Congressional seats on this date in 1870.
Mix and match: Researcher Albert Schatz, en route to discovering streptomycin.
Tales of the sick chicken: Celebrations were also in order at Rutgers University on Oct. 19, 1943, when researchers discovered streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis.
Does not compute: Likely partying on this date in 1973 was American physicist John Vincent Atanasoff, who became the official inventor of the electronic digital computer – not by scientific discovery or breakthrough laboratory work, but by court order.
Be kind, rewind: Definitely reveling were the film buffs of Dallas, where the first Blockbuster video-rental store opened 37 years ago today.
The single saint of Calcutta: And the celebration was enormous on this date in 2003, when Pope John Paul II beatified Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, pushing the Roman Catholic nun (who died in 1997) to the brink of sainthood.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta – known best as Mother Teresa – was officially canonized in 2016.
Roses are red, violets are blue, Dad was a banker, but not me: American investment banker Charles Merrill (1885-1956) – who sired one of the largest U.S. brokerage firms and one of the nation’s most distinguished poets – would be 137 years old today.
Johnetta Cole: Dream fulfilled.
Also born on Oct. 19 were English surgeon William Cheselden (1688-1752), who elevated the science of anatomy (in English, not Latin); French physicist Marguerite Perey (1909-1975), who identified francium, the last naturally occurring element discovered (so far); bestselling British author David John Moore Cornwell (1931-2020), known best as spymaster John le Carré; German-American artist Peter Max (born 1937), a 1960s psychedelic standout; and American actor John Lithgow (born 1945), a Tony- and Emmy-winner known also for his poetry and children’s books.
Full circle: And take a bow, Johnetta Betch Cole! The American anthropologist, educator, museum director and college president – the first African American woman president of Atlanta’s Spelman College, which was founded in 1881 specifically to educate African American women – turns 86 today.
Wish the groundbreaking academician well at editor@innovateli.com, where our education – and the education of our ever-growing readership – depends on your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: SUNY Old Westbury empowers students to own the future they want. In a small-college atmosphere and as part of the dynamic, diverse 5,000-strong student body, Old Westbury students get up close and personal with the life and career they want to pursue. Whether it’s a cutting-edge graduate program in data analytics, highly respected programs in accounting and computer information sciences, or any of the more than 70 degrees available, a SUNY Old Westbury education sets students on a course toward success. Own your future.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Stimulating encounter: The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research returned to form with its fifth Bioelectronic Medicine Summit, the first held in-person since the start of the COVID pandemic.
Co-hosted by Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, “Bioelectronic Medicine: Today’s Tools, Tomorrow’s Therapies” attracted more than 170 visitors to the Garden City Hotel Oct. 11 and 12 for top-tier explorations of cutting-edge neuroscience and biomedical engineering, all focused on using next-generation nerve-stimulation technologies – instead of drugs – to treat diseases and other conditions. Presentations touched on brain/computer interfaces, neuropsychiatric applications, leveraging digital health data to streamline device deployment and other top molecular-medicine issues.
Feinstein Institutes President and CEO Kevin Tracey, the medical pioneer renowned globally as the father of bioelectronic medicine, said the fifth bioelectronic medicine summit showed how quickly the once-futuristic field is spreading through mainstream medicine. “Progress in bioelectronic medicine is accelerating in clinical trials and basic science,” Tracey added. “This years’ summit celebrated the collaboration between biomedical engineers, neuroscientists and molecular biologists that is driving the innovative progress for this exciting field.”
Rivers of dreams: Albany is diving deep into clean water infrastructure.
Pumped up: Pour another seven-digit Long Island investment into Albany’s statewide clean water-infrastructure pool.
The New York State Environmental Facilities Corp. has approved a $31.3 million funding package in support of wastewater and drinking-water projects across the state, triggering municipal access to a slate of previously announced grants, low-cost financing programs and long-term “financing conversions” (providing debt-interest relief on certain completed projects). The package includes roughly $4 million in long-term, interest-free financing for the Town of North Hempstead, which desires a new effluent pump station for the Belgrave Water Pollution Control District.
The loan marks the latest drop of good news for Long Island’s troubled water supply, following a $70 EFC funding package for Nassau and Suffolk projects announced in June and a NYS Department of Health study released this summer endorsing the idea of sharing New York City’s abundant water supply with Nassau County. “The Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds are supporting critical municipal infrastructure projects that will reduce potential risks to public health and the environment,” noted NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner and EFC Chairman Basil Seggos.
POD PEOPLE
Episode 31: Christian Gonzalez, raising hell.
Demonic choirs, hellacious beasts, dimensional doorways, evil conspiracies … mix in original music, expert sound editing and a little sexual tension, and government investigations of supernatural anomalies haven’t been this fun since Mulder met Scully.
Welcome to “The Macabre Sessions,” a homework assignment-turned-radio show written, produced and directed by uber-creative collegian Christian Gonzalez, who haunts the annual Halloween episode of “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast.” Be afraid, dear listeners … be very afraid.
TOP OF THE SITE
Workforce wish granted: Albany’s comprehensive Office of Strategic Workforce Development commits $150 million in competitive grants to high-demand job training.
If you weren’t already stressed: Mount Sinai South Nassau’s latest Truth in Medicine Poll reveals a mental health “crisis” on Long Island.
Always easy, always free: Thank you for forwarding this engaging newsletter to your innovation team … now do them (and us) an even bigger favor and sign them up.
VOICES
Any liquor store wedged between the bank and the pizzeria in the supermarket strip mall can stock flashy brand labels – it took a well-seasoned palate (and all the right connections) to create Wines By Nature, a jewel of The Shoppes at East Wind and the latest tale of ripe-on-the-vine innovation flavoring our amazing Voices library.
STUFF WE’RE READING
McUh-Oh: Its latest menu experiment has McDonald’s selling fresh Krispy Kreme donuts. Restaurant Business Magazine weighs society’s chances.
We say ‘spud’: Spanish luxury brand Belanciaga and Frito-Lay (!?!) collaborate on an $1,800 “potato chip clutch bag.” Newsweek crunches the numbers.
Comeback: Rebuilding your confidence after escaping a toxic workplace can be challenging. Harvard Business Review pumps you up.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Surge Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech, raised $26 million in Series A funding led by Camford Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures, Intuitive Ventures, Pitango HealthTech, 8VC, Alumni Ventures and the Cancer Research Institute.
+ Ambi Robotics, a California-based robotics innovator, raised $32 million in funding led by Tiger Global and Bow Capital, with participation from Ahren and Pitney Bowes.
+ Vita Therapeutics, a Maryland-based biotech focused on cell engineering, raised $31 million in Series B funding led by Cambrian BioPharma, Solve FSHD, Riptide Ventures, Cedars Sinai and TEDCO.
+ TRAXyL, a Virginia-based optical-fiber installation company, raised $5 million in seed funding led by Draper Associates, with participation from In-Q-Tel.
+ NeuroFlow, a Pennsylvania-based behavioral-health technology integrator, raised $25 million in growth funding led by SEMCAP Health.
+ Puttshack, an Illinois-based entertainment company combining mini golf and global food and beverages, raised $150 million in growth funding led by BlackRock, with participation from Promethean Investments.
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 SUNY Old Westbury). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Scare You Straight Edition)
High there: Science says the “sugar high” is a “myth.” Parents know better.
Scariest thing you ever saw: Avert your eyes from the horrors of 2022 candy prices.
Re-ghost, re-ghoul, re-psycho: How to make Halloween sustainable.
Trick … or treat? Do kids really get a “sugar high?”
Nothing to be afraid of: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including SUNY Old Westbury, where cutting-edge education forges a fearless future. Check them out.
