Beginning of the end: Welcome to Friday, friends, and not just any Friday but the very last Friday of this Summer season.
It’s Sept. 20 out there and, yes, the annual Autumnal Equinox officially occurs on Sunday, Sept. 22 (at the same moment around the world, which is 8:44 a.m. precisely here in Long Island’s Eastern Time Zone). Three months of Fall will follow – the stretch run of bitter, bombastic, election-fatigued 2024 (just 46 days until Election Day, for the record).
Down … but out?: Star Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t announced his retirement — yet — after suffering his third NFL concussion last week.
Skull crusher: Speaking of big headaches, remember that time you smashed your noggin and saw little birdies tweeting around? No? Well, that’s why the third Friday of September is National Concussion Awareness Day, calling attention to the serious health risks associated with traumatic brain injuries. (We’re looking at you, Tua Tagovailoa.)
Forgetting, momentarily, the end of summer, crass politics and painful headwounds, we cheerily dig into what may be the best single-day menu of the entire year: World Paella Day, National Fried Rice Day, National Pepperoni Pizza Day, National Queso Day, National String Cheese Day, International Grenache Day and National Rum Punch Day are all served up today.
Nothing for me, thanks: Not enjoying paella, fried rice, pizza, cheese, grenache or rum punch was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the passively resistant Indian activist who began his 10th hunger strike – this in protest of a British plan to separate India’s electoral system by caste – on Sept. 20, 1932.
Nothing for her, thanks: Also avoiding the kitchen were future Nobel Laureate Alfred Hershey and (unawarded) research partner Martha Chase, who jointly proved DNA holds hereditary data when they published the findings of their famous Kitchen Blender Experiment on this date in 1952.
Code enforcement: A specialized language for high-performance computing, FORTRAN is still alive — and evolving — after seven decades.
FORthought: Also cooking up game-changing success were the IBM programmers who executed the first successful computer program written in the Formula Translating language 70 years ago today. (FORTRAN would quickly become the dominant language for scientific and engineering applications.)
Animation domination: Also sweetening the pot was “Sugar, Sugar,” which became the first No. 1 hit by a nonexistent band on this date in 1969. (Based on characters appearing in Archie Comics, the song was recorded by singers Ron Dante and Toni Wine, backed by session musicians.)
Speed merchants: And it was Sept. 20, 2013, when Grand Theft Auto V – the fifth installment in Rockstar Games’ insanely popular, adult-themed action-adventure videogame series – eclipsed $1 billion in sales.
The open-world game hit the vaunted mark after just three days on the market – the fastest climb ever for any videogame, feature film or other entertainment property.
Red bull: American basketball coach and executive Arnold Jacob “Red” Auerbach (1917-2006) – the volatile, cigar-chomping Boston Celtics icon who retired with the most wins and most championships of any coach to date (both records have since been eclipsed) – would be 107 years old today.
What a Guy: “The Flower” was the first to score 50-plus goals in six consecutive seasons, among other accomplishments.
Also born on Sept. 20 were Irish geologist, mining engineer and politician Sir Richard John Griffith (1784-1878), the “Father of Irish Geology”; British physicist Sir James Dewar (1842-1923), who invented the Dewar flask but was otherwise unrelated to Dewars whiskey; American author, political activist and renowned muckraker Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (1878-1968), who wrote nearly 100 books in various genres but is remembered primarily for championing the proletariat in his seminal pot-stirrer “The Jungle”; American author, television writer and television producer George R.R. Martin (born 1948), the “Song of Fire and Ice” scribe lamented for frustrating his followers; and Canadian professional ice hockey player Guy LaFleur (1951-2022), ranked among the greatest to ever strap on skates.
Stella del cinema: And take a bow, Sophia Loren! The legendary Italian actress (born Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone) and one of the last survivors of the Golden Age of Hollywood turns 90 today.
Give Italy’s most famous star – who headlined opposite such heavy-hitters as Cary Grant, Clark Gable,Frank Sinatra, William Holden and Paul Newman – your best at editor@innovateli.com, where you’re the star (and your news tips and calendar events make headlines).
About our sponsor: St. Joseph’s University has provided a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. The independent and coeducational university provides a strong academic and values-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual rigor, social responsibility, spiritual depth and service. Through its Long Island, Brooklyn and online campuses, the university offers degrees in 100 majors, special course offerings and certificates and affiliated and pre-professional programs. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Opportunities EMERGE: A landmark federal grant will help Farmingdale State College create new academic pathways for Hispanic students.
The college has been awarded a five-year, $3 million grant – its largest federal grant to date – through the U.S. Department of Education’s Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program, part of the Title V block-grant platform. The annual funding will support Education Milestones in Enrollment, Retention and Graduation Excellence, a new Farmingdale State program designed to remove barriers that often prevent Hispanic and other low-income students from achieving their academic goals.
EMERGE will create an on-campus Office of First Year and Transfer Year Experience, support Hispanic student involvement in co- and extra-curricular programming and “enable curricular innovation in support of improved college readiness,” according to the college. “The EMERGE award represents the remarkable and essential work that is underway campus-wide to grow opportunities and success for our students while emphasizing our standing as a focused Hispanic-Serving Institution,” noted Farmingdale State President Robert Prezant. “This grant is a game-changer that will enable us to expand and enhance our already high-quality programs that support our growing Hispanic student population.”
Mission critical: The Long Island Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Stony Brook University is more than just a name change, according to Executive Director Amy Erickson.
Meet the MEP: One of Long Island’s most influential manufacturing boosters is rebuilding its brand.
The Long Island Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Stony Brook University has announced new leadership and a slate of expanded services, part of a comprehensive rebranding initiative designed to better support the region’s small and mid-sized manufacturers. Amy Erickson, a professional engineer and longtime SBU project manager with more than 20 years of manufacturing experience, has taken over as executive director of the former Manufacturing & Technology Resource Consortium at Stony Brook University – still Long Island’s only federally recognized Manufacturing Extension Partnership center.
Erickson is overseeing important upgrades in the organization’s service model, as the LIMEP evolves from a business-referrals and cost-sharing-opportunities middleman to a direct provider of critical technical assistance to Long Island manufacturers – with carbon-footprint reduction, workforce development and Industry 4.0 solutions all in play. “While our rebranding is a visual representation of this new era, the bigger change for LIMEP is our operational transformation,” Erickson noted. “Our new approach is defined by an unwavering commitment to providing the technical expertise, hands-on support and tailored solutions manufacturers need to overcome challenges and seize opportunities.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Waste opportunities: Rebranded as Reworld, the former Covanta continues to set new technological standards for sustainable waste management on Long Island and beyond.
Calendar call: Remember, dear readers, our Monday Calendar Newsletters – all the innovation and wit, plus regional business-development events up the wazoo – are for subscribers only. Fortunately, subscriptions are always easy, always free.
ICYMI
According to the latest Mount Sinai South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll, excessive screen time is a growing concern for Long Island youth – and also Island adults, who admit they’re “addicted” to social media but don’t see the problem.
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 Washington State: Seattle-based mobile marketplace OfferUp expands local e-retail opportunities with streamlined services platform.
From Georgia: Atlanta-based corporate headhunter Randstad addresses evolving hiring agency and workforce needs with cutting-edge marketplace app.
From Colorado: Boulder-based faith-ecosystem digital hub Gloo energizes multiple church- and community-service groups with AI solutions and language models.
ON THE MOVE
Lisa Cruz
+ Lisa Cruz has been hired as vice president of communications at Laurel Hollow-based Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She was president of Texas-based Upside Communications.
+ Abhisek Swaika has been appointed medical director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute at Rego Park and chief of hematology/oncology at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital. He previously worked at Fresh Meadows-based Queens Medical Associates.
+ Armando D’Accordo has been elected to the board of the Alzheimer’s Association Long Island Chapter in Melville. He is CEO and president of CMIT Solutions of South Nassau in Merrick.
+ Matthew Goldberg has been elected president of the Commack-based Suffolk YJCC’s Board of Directors. He is a partner at Great Neck-based Hankin & Mazel.
+ Silvia Cota has been hired as chief executive at Northport-based Visiting Nurse Service & Hospice of Suffolk. She was director of patient-care services at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore.
+ Thomas McDaid Jr. has been hired as assistant superintendent for finance and operations in the Valley Stream Central High School District. He was assistant superintendent for business and operations in the North Merrick Union Free School District.
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 St. Joe’s). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Back In Black Edition)
Let’s do the time warp again: Distant, otherwise unobservable galaxies can be seen through a space-warping cosmic lens.
Black voters: The NAACP will invest $20 million to mobilize the Black vote this fall.
Black void: Scientists open deep-space window with “lucky” gravitational lens.
Black Friday: It’s just 10 weeks away, as retail kicks off its Super Bowl season.
Black and white: Please continue supporting the incredible institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including St. Joseph’s University, where teaching students right from wrong is always part of the curriculum. Check them out.
