Quarter pole: You survived the Winter That Winter Forgot … and now The March That Wouldn’t Die, as we reach the fifth (!) Friday of the month and the blessed end of a marathon workweek month first quarter.
Yep, one-fourth of 2023 is in the books, and so’s this latest five-day sprint. Enjoy a Friday-flavored victory lap with this inspiring innovation review (also, there’s coffee in the break room).
We are the world: So much in common.
Happy holidays: Speaking of blessed, it’s certainly a spiritual time of year – Palm Sunday this weekend, Passover beginning Wednesday, Easter next week, Ramadan running through most of April and all kinds of major observances in between, across many faiths.
Of course, we wish a safe and a happy to one and all, but we also wish this: Throughout the major religions, so many important holidays coincide throughout the year – that alone might reinforce the things we have in common, instead of the things driving us apart.
Got your back: It’s March 31 out there, known globally as World Backup Day, which encourages digital duplication as a prime defense against data loss (and theft).
Got your hugs: Show some love today for your local Anesthesia Tech, Farm Worker or Medievalist, all of whom enjoy a day (literally International Hug a Medievalist Day).
And do you want fries with that? Of course you do on National Tater Day, which praises America’s No. 1 vegetable (botanical fact) fried, baked, mashed and any other way.
Pièce de résistance: Enjoy some Freedom Fries – or perhaps a side of pommes de terre sautées à la lyonnaise – as you celebrate the anniversary of the Eiffel Tower, which ceremoniously opened on this date in 1889.
Eight is enough: The affordable Flathead V8 proved sturdy and reliable.
Coulda had a V8: Actually, hold the potatoes – we’ll roll instead with the classic Flathead V8 engine, unveiled by the Ford Motor Co. on March 31, 1932.
Up scope: Other vehicular advances associated with this date include the world’s first Atomic Submarine Division, established by the U.S. Navy in 1958 with three nuclear-powered submarines – the Nautilus, the Sea Wolf and the Skate – and six subs total.
And the Commies take the lead! The Space Race heated up 57 years ago today, when the Luna 10 – the first Earth probe to orbit the Moon – blasted off from deep inside the Soviet Union.
Slippery slope: And the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a first-ever patent for a genetically engineered life form on March 31, 1981, protecting Indian American microbiologist Ananda Chakrabarty’s lab-created pseudomonas, a microorganism that feeds on crude oil.
Clearing a path for the historic patent, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that lifeforms can be patented if they’re created by “human ingenuity,” as opposed to “nature’s handiwork.”
Many talents: Drenched in ingenuity was French Renaissance man René Descartes (1596-1650), who computed unprecedented relationships between geometry and algebra, proposed new forms of matter, literally wrote the book on modern philosophy and would be 427 years old today.
Seeing the light: Joan Feynman, always looking up.
Also born on March 31 were master German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), who was actually born on March 21, but not; German chemist Robert Bunsen (1811-1899), whose flame burns on for several reasons; German physical chemist Isidor Traube (1860-1943), who founded capillary chemistry; American astrophysicist Joan Feynman (1927-2020), who discovered the origin of auroras; and American designer and entrepreneur Anne Elisabeth Jane “Liz” Claiborne (1929-2007), the first woman to run a Fortune 500 company.
Particle-ular interest: And take a bow, Carlo Rubbia! The Italian particle physicist – who shared a 1984 Nobel Prize with Dutch particle physicist Simon van der Meer for discovering the W and Z bosons, a tiny, enormous leap in human understanding of the universe – turns 89 today.
Wish the maestro scienziato well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips are the fundamental particles in our articles – and your calendar events are our universe.
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College delivers exceptional academic and applied-learning outcomes through scholarship, research and student engagement. Our commitment to student-centered learning and inclusiveness prepares exemplary citizens equipped to excel in a competitive, diverse and technically dynamic society. Long Island’s first public institution of higher education is a regional economic cornerstone, with 96 percent of graduates working in New York State and 75 percent working on Long Island. We prepare emerging leaders in the growing technology, engineering, business and healthcare fields. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
DNA-plus for effort: Busy biotech Applied DNA Sciences has achieved a major milestone in the production of next-generation nucleic acid-based pharmaceuticals.
The Stony Brook-based leader in polymerase chain reaction-based DNA technologies announced a new DNA-production high-water mark Wednesday, after manufacturing and shipping a “multi-gram quantity” of LinearDNA (house brand of linear DNA, as opposed to circular DNA). Completed in less than six weeks, the company’s largest single shipment of LinearDNA to date was part of a “large recurring purchase order” from a global pharma manufacturer announced late in calendar 2022; the order should be completed when Applied DNA ships out another multi-gram quantity later this year.
The production milestone “underscores our LinearDNA platform’s capacity for the rapid, enzymatic production of DNA at very large scale,” according to Applied DNA Sciences President and CEO James Hayward, and “stands in stark contrast to the scalability bottlenecks and challenges” of conventional plasmid-DNA production. “Building on our platform’s inherent advantages of speed and scale, we are concurrently pursuing platform optimizations … that we believe will enhance LinearDNA’s standing as an alternative source of DNA,” Hayward added.
Forward thinking: New York City’s “Lab of the Future” will be a next-gen godsend for life-science innovation — big news for Long Island-based researchers.
Close enough: Neither is a Long Island initiative, directly or exclusively – but two ambitious (and well-funded) state and federal projects announced Wednesday could pay huge dividends across this region.
New York State will receive $100 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding to expand broadband infrastructure across the state, extending high-speed Internet access to 100,000 underserved homes in rural, tribal and low-income communities, according to a joint statement from Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand (both D-NY). The nine-figure broadband investment represents 29 percent of New York’s haul from the $10 billion American Rescue Plan Capital Projects Fund, designed to promote socioeconomic pandemic recoveries across the nation.
The governor’s office announced separately the establishment of a $50 million preclinical drug-discovery laboratory in Manhattan, created in collaboration with New York City/China-based pharma R&D leader Deerfield Discovery and Development. Packing the latest automation, artificial-intelligence and machine-learning technologies, the pilot facility – dubbed “The Lab of the Future” – will leverage a $25 million Empire State Development grant to “further build the state’s life-science ecosystem,” according to Hochul’s office.
TOP OF THE SITE
On the clock: The Long Island Power Authority will roll out new rate structures based on time of use, promoting cost savings and energy efficiency.
And counting: Luring way more in outside investments, a Stony Brook University seed-fund program has now granted $5.5 million to ambitious researchers.
Well-seasoned: Starring the biggest names in regional socioeconomics, Seasons 1-3 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast were a tasty smorgasbord of intellect and idealism, with a heaping side of humor. Season 4 is in the oven … whet your appetite right now!
ICYMI
Exposing the “truth” of weight loss and wonder pills; easing the burden of small-biz marketing and management.
BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)
Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:
From Florida: Fort Lauderdale-based natural-supplement trendsetter Ananta Merdicare slows skin aging with vitamin-rich health drink.
From California: Gardena-based ramen royalty Nissan Foods USA stirs up the most important meal of the day with breakfast-flavored noodle cups.
From Florida: Orlando-based laugh-riot Open Bar Comedy schedules launch of new standup-comedy streaming service.
ON THE MOVE
Joanne Hawthorne
+ Joanne Hawthorne has joined Riverhead-based Tully Law Group as a partner. She was the principal of the Law Office of Joanne M. Hawthorne in Farmingdale.
+ The Long Island Power Authority has added two new Board of Trustees members: Dominick Macchia, an international representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Mili Makhijani, principal law clerk for the Hon. Randy Sue Marber of the Nassau County Supreme Court.
+ Jon Sendach has been appointed deputy regional executive director for the New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health System’s central region. He is also executive director of North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.
+ Deborah Kashanian has joined the Great Neck office of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty as a real estate associate. She was formerly a sales agent for Compass Real Estate.
+ Nicholas Bono has been promoted to deputy discipline director of wastewater engineering at Melville-based H2M architects + engineers. He previously served as a wastewater discipline engineer.
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 Farmingdale State). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD
Feeling lucky: No? Well, do something about it.
A little of this: Positive societal changes are happening, one small step at a time.
A little of that: Talent is swell, but success also requires luck – so make your own.
A little of both: Remembering the world of today in your longtermism lifestyle.
All of the above: Please continue sponsoring the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, where a comprehensive combination of academics and social awareness creates model graduates. Check them out.
