And, we’re off: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers – not just any old Hump Day, but the very first one of the shiny New Year.
Yes, 2023 is off and running, and Innovate Long Island is back on the beat, now entering our (can it be?) eighth annum of documenting the innovation economy’s evolution and dialoguing with its regional leaders.
Another exciting year of socioeconomic inventiveness begins … let’s get to it!
Noodles for two: Share your spaghetti today.
Brightening up: It’s been a darksome start to the year (Jeremy Renner, Damar Hamlin, George Santos), but this should warm you – today is Perihelion Day, when the Earth is as close to the sun as it gets during its annual orbit.
Now that’s Italian: Tired of turkey? Had it with ham? Enough with the holiday feasts – we’re getting back to basics on National Spaghetti Day, always sauced on Jan. 4.
And if you knew about Perihelion Day and National Spaghetti Day, you’re probably a big hit on National Trivia Day, also questioned (and answered) annually on this date.
Now that’s British: By royal charter of his majesty King George II of England, Columbia University – the oldest higher-learning institution in New York State and fifth-oldest in the United States – was founded on this date in 1754.
Wheels up: Patented Plimptons.
Wheels in motion: New York City is also where we find inventor James Plimpton, who patented the four-wheeled roller skate on Jan. 4, 1863.
Give my regards to Broad Street: It’s also where we find the New York Stock Exchange, which opened its first permanent headquarters – after 70-plus years of bouncing around coffeehouses and rented storefronts – 158 years ago today.
The Mormon, the merrier: From the Big Apple to the Beehive State – Utah became the 45th U.S. State on this date in 1896.
That’s the Spirit: And from Utah to Mars, were NASA’s Spirit rover landed on Jan. 4, 2004, kicking off an unprecedented tour that totally outperformed projections.
It was natural wind power that actually shattered expectations: Unanticipated Martian breezes continuously cleared dust from Spirit’s solar panels, extending the rover’s mission from a planned 90 Earth days to more than six Earth years.
Sight to behold: French educator Louis Braille (1809-1852) – who lost his sight in an accident at age 3 and went on to create a universal printing and writing system for the blind – would be 214 years old today.
You know my name: Bond specialized in bird breeds, not espionage.
Also born on Jan. 4 were French artist and archaeologist Baron Denon Dominique Vivant (1747-1825), who laid the groundwork for the Louvre; German author, linguist, philologist and folklorist Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), who established linguistics laws and dabbled in fairy tales; American inventor and industrialist Edward Johnson (1846-1917), an Edison collaborator who helped start GE; American ornithologist James Bond (1900-1989), a real-life bird man who lent his name to Ian Fleming’s fictional British superspy; and legendary American football coach Donald Francis Shula (1930-2020), who compiled more victories than any other NFL coach, including the league’s only perfect season.
Historical epic: And take a bow, Doris Kearns Goodwin! The American biographer, historian and political commentator – a former sports journalist turned Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential history expert – turns 80 today.
Give the Rockville Centre native your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips make history and your calendar events always take the prize.
About our sponsor: The Long Island Business Development Council has helped build the regional economy for more than 50 years by bringing together government-economic development officials, developers, financial experts and others for education, debate and networking.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Water mark: A million-dollar flood-mitigation project on the Town of Brookhaven’s swampy Bellhaven Road is among the “climate smart” projects earning new state support.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Smart Communities Grant Program closed out 2022 with an $11.6 million round backing environmentally sensitive work in 25 statewide municipalities, including projects focused on greenhouse-gas reductions, infrastructure retrofits and extreme-weather resilience. Among them: a $910,000 stipend for the Bellhaven Flood Mitigation Project, which will incorporate “green infrastructure” to better manage stormwater and raise a roadbed regularly inundated by high tides and storm surges.
Launched in 2016, Albany’s competitive Climate Smart program offers matching grants to municipalities implementing climate-change adaptation and greenhouse-gas mitigation projects, with extra credit for disadvantaged communities facing a disproportionate environmental-pollution burden. “These Climate Smart Communities are powerful examples of what municipalities and local leaders can do to reduce pollution and protect residents from … the consequences of our changing climate,” noted Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos.
Showing some spine: Bouton and friends are focusing the power of bioelectronics on the worst spinal cord injuries.
On the move: New methods of spinal cord stimulation – including next-generation brain implants – are on line at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.
A $3.6 million New York State Department of Health award is backing new studies of bioelectronic medicine’s potential to help patients paralyzed by spinal cord injuries regain movement and sensation. Announced in late 2022, the five-year grant will help determine if cervical stimulation – alone and combined with brain implants – can promote lasting movement, building on previous Northwell Health research showing that electrical cervical stimulation can promote recovery from spinal cord and peripheral nerve injuries.
Co-Principal Investigator Chad Bouton, Feinstein Institutes vice president of advanced engineering and Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine professor, will lead a team of investigators from Manhasset and the University of Louisville. “Currently, there is no cure for permanent paralysis,” Bouton noted. “With the state’s generous support, we have the potential to study new bioelectronic medicine solutions that could restore movement for those living with spinal cord injuries.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 30: Elaine Gross, justice for all.
Fearless invention, executive leadership, boundless compassion, the courage to be creative … find what you’re looking for on “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast,” straight from the upper echelons of the regional innovation economy. Season 3 resumes soon – three dozen geniuses waiting to engage you now.
TOP OF THE SITE
Waste not: Stony Brook University and University of Queensland (Australia) scientists want to save the world by turning biomass waste into climate-friendly fertilizers.
Making plans: Thousands of LI high schoolers will converge for a two-day “tradeshow” kicking off Virtual Enterprise International’s 2023 National Business Plan Competition.
Look ahead: The future is now, intrepid innovator, and Innovate Long Island is your personal guide. Thrice-weekly newsletter subscriptions – including subscriber-only Monday Calendar Newsletters – are always easy, always free.
VOICES
Pundits say Facebook and Twitter are dying or dead – but not ZE Creative Communications Executive Vice President and Voices media master David Chauvin, who predicts innovation (and a lack of adequate alternatives) will save social media.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Put me in, coach (maybe): Belief in the power of executive coaching varies from one corporate culture to another. Forbes weighs pros and cons.
Hope lives: Ignorance hung tough, but policy and research breakthroughs throughout 2022 rewarded your faith in science. Vox counts our blessings.
Nice place to visit: A retiring Chinese diplomat praised Americans, suggesting warmer relations between the world’s biggest economies. Bloomberg makes new friends.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Liberation Labs, a New York City-based biotech developing advanced fermentation platforms, raised $20 million in seed financing led by Agronomics, Siddhi Capital, CPT Capital, Thia Ventures, 8090 Industries and Echo.
+ Lipogems, a Georgia-based clinical-stage med-tech, raised $12.5 million in growth funding led by ABC Medtech and LIFTT.
+ Gynger, a NYC-based software- and infrastructure-financing startup, raised $11.7 million in seed funding and $10 million in debt financing led by Upper90, Vine Ventures, Gradient Ventures, m]x[v Capital, Quiet Capital and Deciens Capital.
+ Parallel Bio, a Massachusetts-based biotech, raised $4.3 million in seed funding led by Refactor Capital, Y Combinator’s Jeff Dean and Breakout Ventures.
+ CyberCube, a California-based IT innovator focused on cyber-risk analytics, raised $50 million in funding led by Morgan Stanley Tactical Value, Forgepoint Capital, Hudson Structured Capital Management, MTech Capital, Stone Point Capital and Scott G. Stephenson.
+ Protect AI, a Washington State-based cybersecurity pioneer focused on AI and machine-learning systems, raised $13.5 million in seed funding co-led by Acrew Capital and boldstart ventures, with participation from Knollwood Capital and Pelion.
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 LIBDC). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Trending Now Edition)
Can it: Society will rediscover tinned fish in 2023.
Tech trends: Ranking the new year’s top technology predictions.
Food trends: From plant-based pasta to fish tins, expect the unexpected.
Design trends: Carpet confidently and close that kitchen – it’s extreme home makeover, 2023 edition.
Upward trends: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including the Long Island Business Development Council, which has kept regional socioeconomic arrows climbing for more than five decades. Check them out.
