The heat is on: Welcome to Friday, intrepid innovators, as the weather warms, politics hit a fever pitch and the innovation economy steams right along.
We could all use a two-day blow to chill out – and most of us will have it, after we sweat through one more hot-to-trot workday. Let’s put this workweek on ice, starting with this super-cool week-in-innovation review.
Distill the one: Named for the French House of Bourbon, Kentucky’s Bourbon County and/or New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, bourbon whiskey has its day today.
Patriotic salute: Today is June 14, and we begin by pledging allegiance to Flag Day, the annual commemoration of the Second Continental Congress’ adoption of the Flag of the United States – which belongs to all Americans – on this date in 1777.
Give it your all: It’s also World Blood Donor Day, raising awareness of the need for safe blood supplies and thanking voluntary donors for their lifesaving contributions.
After you donate (and your blood-volume levels normalize), raise a glass to your selflessness – it’s also National Bourbon Day, celebrating one of the best-loved of all distilled American spirits every June 14.
Armed conflict: Speaking of American spirit, our June 3 Calendar Newsletter (you don’t get our subscriber-only Monday newsletters? Keep reading!) noted that the First American Regiment – the nation’s first post-revolution military unit, established by Congress in 1784 – is considered by many to be the progenitor of the United States Army. But others insist the formation of the Continental Army on this date in 1775 marked the beginnings of our modern armed forces. You decide.
Smooth operator: There’s no doubt who patented sandpaper – Vermont-based inventor Isaac Fisher Jr. locked up his breakthrough “coating paper” on June 14, 1834.
Eternal flame: Robert Bunsen burned his name into the history books in 1847.
Burn notice: Also lighting a historical flame was German chemist Robert Bunsen, who invented his namesake burner 177 years ago today.
Digital dedication: Slightly more advanced than sandpaper or Bunsen’s eponymous burner – technologically speaking – was the UNIVAC 1 (for “Universal Automatic Computer”), the world’s first commercially produced digital computer, dedicated by the U.S. Census Bureau on this date in 1951.
Name that sub: And it was June 14, 1952, when construction began on the U.S.S. Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine.
The Electric Boat Co. of Groton, Conn. – which would complete construction 18 months later – named the Nautilus after the fictional boat commanded by anti-villain Captain Nemo of author Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” which was itself named for inventor Robert Fulton’s circa-1801 real-life sub.
You can quote that: American editor and publisher John Bartlett (1820-1905) – who wrote books on chess and fishing, but is known best for his handwritten notebook of “Familiar Quotations,” which grew through the decades into an international compendium of famous sayings – would be 204 years old today.
Atta boy: George Alan O’Dowd turns 63 today.
Also born on June 14 were American author and abolitionist Harriett Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), who changed everything with “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”; German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915), the first to document “presenile dementia”; Austrian American biologist, physician and immunologist Karl Landsteiner (1868-1943), the Nobel Prize-winning Father of Transfusion Medicine; Argentine physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist Ernesto “Che” Guevera (1928-1967), an anti-American Marxist revolutionary who became a global counterculture icon; and English singer, songwriter, actor, author, fashion designer and DJ George Alan O’Dowd (born 1961), known best as androgynous Culture Club headliner Boy George.
Un-presidented: And take a bow hike, Donald John Trump! The TV personality and 45th President of the United States — whose re-election bid won’t be endorsed by dozens of former aides and cabinet members – turns 78 today.
Share your news tips and calendar events at editor@innovateli.com, where we’ll happily debate Democrat-vs.-Republican and liberal-vs.-conservative all day long – and, in fact, strongly support ideals from both sides – but have had it up to here with the mainstreaming of radical nonsense.
About our sponsor: Whether it’s helping in 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
Studio session: A regional stalwart of innovative conceptualization and manufacturing has revamped its advanced product-design capabilities into a shiny new division.
Intelligent Product Solutions, a subsidiary of Hauppauge-based Forward Industries, has announced the launch of the Advanced Concept Studio, combining its unparalleled, decades-long expertise in human and digital design, user experience, virtual- and augmented-reality visualization and artificial intelligence interfacing. By focusing on rapid prototyping, user-based research and interdisciplinary collaborations, the new division aims to turn innovative product ideas into “impactful solutions” that are “technically sound, scalable and well-designed,” according to IPS.
Advanced Concept Studio will continue years of end-to-end product-development work responsible for everything from Zebra Technologies enterprise computing solutions to interactive home-gym devices to next-generation medical lasers designed for noninvasive fat-reduction therapies. “From concept to production, our commitment to excellence and innovation guides every design project,” noted Advanced Concept Studio Senior Director of Industrial Design Joe Toro. “By aligning user insights with technological possibilities, ACS brings brilliant ideas to life, pushing creative limits and exceeding expectations.”
Dim the lights: The annual Stony Brook Film Festival opens at the Staller Center for the Arts July 18.
Screen time: Thirty-six films from 19 countries will bow at the 29th annual Stony Brook Film Festival.
Scheduled to run July 18-July 27 at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts, the festival spotlights films that can’t be seen in mainstream theaters, on streaming services or anywhere else, including 17 world, East Coast and/or U.S. premieres. While there’s no official “theme” linking the three-dozen feature-length and short films on the docket, festival organizers included more lighthearted selections this year, adding a few laughs to the regular assortment of compelling dramas, eye-opening documentaries and unique science-fiction stories.
This year’s festival also features a “secret” film to be revealed to festivalgoers on July 21 (spoiler alert: It’s a “major motion picture starring well-known Hollywood faces,” with an “amazing local hook” for Long Islanders, according to SBU). “One of the most exciting parts for me is seeing these films up on the big screen and watching how the audience reacts,” noted SBU Outreach Director Paul Newland. “It’s truly exciting to see them have their big premiere in the festival, and our filmmakers love it, too.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Ranks high: The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell is on a critical mission to help U.S. Special Operations Forces veterans transition into mainstream medical careers.
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ICYMI
An ultra-rare genetic disorder, a determined family and state-of-the-art biotechnology have combined to make Setauket 2-year-old Leo Church the face of “precision medicine.”
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 New York City: Innovative identity-verification platform Veriff adds “low friction” AI functionality to cutting-edge Age Verification tool.
From Colorado: Lafayette-based satellite builder Blue Canyon Technologies inks manufacturing contract for high-altitude NASA science mission.
From Massachusetts: Boston-based biotech procurement platform Prendio-BioProcure teams with Chicago-based venture-development engine Portal Innovations to accelerate life sciences.
ON THE MOVE
Antonia DiGregorio
+ Antonia DiGregorio has been promoted to dean of the library at SUNY Old Westbury. She was previously director of library services.
+ Caitlin Cash has been hired as an associate at Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler. She held the same position at Woodbury-based Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck.
+ Suzanne Nelson has been hired as first vice president and portfolio management team leader at Valley Bank in Jericho. She was a senior vice president at M&T Bank in Hauppauge.
+ Paul Romano has been appointed Hofstra University vice president for facilities and operations. He was most recently Hofstra’s physical plant director.
+ Andrew Sack has joined The Law Offices of Steven Mitchell Sack in Garden City as an attorney. He is a professor of sports management at Long Island University and was previously of counsel at Woodbury-based Milber Makris Plousadis & Seiden.
+ Paul Blake has been elected president of the New York State Recreation & Park Society. He is commissioner of parks for the Village of Garden City.
+ Emily Mastaler has been hired as chief administrative officer at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. She was chief executive at River Hospital in Alexandria Bay.
+ David Wrobel has been named dean of Stony Brook University’s College of Arts and Sciences, effective Aug. 1. He is currently dean of the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma.
+ Katherine Jenkins has been hired as an associate at Rivkin Radler in Uniondale. She held the same position at Sokoloff Stern in Carle Place.
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 Town of Islip). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Meanwhile Back On The Farm Edition)
Red soil: Techniques being tested for Martian agriculture may pay off on Earth.
Hold the soil: Debunking common myths about vertical farming.
Rising reality star: From “Farmer Wants a Wife” to the Dutch ministry.
Crops in spaaaaace: A Mars farming plan might save agriculture on Earth.
Healthy harvest: Please continue supporting the innovative institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including the Town of Islip Office of Economic Development, which works hard to help startups and small businesses ripen on the vine. Check them out.
