Four more years: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as Long Island and the rest of the world adjust to the new order.
We do solemnly swear: We won’t comment every time President Trump says something insulting, ignorant or incendiary, but we’ll definitely call out threats to the innovation economy.
As the new presidential administration takes hold, Innovate Long Island makes this solemn vow: We can’t promise to never take a swipe at Nazi-saluting archvillains, awful environmental policies, heartless international isolationism, religious hypocrisy, criminal hypocrisy, pointless egoism and various national and global threats created by the White House – but we do promise to keep such comments to an absolute minimum.
It’s not that we’re not paying attention. We are. And it’s not that we don’t perceive the clear and present danger to the scientific foundations, innovation, artistic creativity, social diversity and other ideals we – and the Long Island innovation economy – hold so dear. We do.
But Innovate Long Island is here to encourage optimism, not take political potshots. To embolden, not criticize. Our resonance with our audience – our very ability to report on socioeconomic progress – is based on an editorial model that promotes positivity and leaves the mudslinging to other news outlets.
So that’s what we’ll do: ignore the ill-informed insult comics (mostly), weather the storm of international condemnation (with quiet dignity) and champion medical science, strong environmental stewardship, clean alternative-energy options and all other manners of forward thinking (always).
These are the things that make America great – not hatred, not division, not invectives or ignorance. And fortunately, we’ve got them in spades on Long Island.
Buckle up, intrepid innovators. Innovation is never easy and it’s about to get a lot harder – but you’re absolutely up to this challenge, and so are we.
The guy who came in from the cold: And the gal, for that matter, as we open things here on Jan. 22 with Come in From the Cold Day, a literal (and figurative) annual observation that’s all about escaping Winter’s chill (and breaking through social barriers).
Also heating things up is National Hot Sauce Day, when we’re encouraged to put that $#!+ on everything.
Blonde ambition: Lunch may leave your mouth burning, but dessert will put a smile on your face – you can’t help it on National Blonde Brownie Day, a baked-fresh delight that yellows the cake and chips the chocolate every Jan. 22.
Split decision: Speaking of yellowcake, nuclear fission became a thing on this date in 1939, when scientists at Columbia University in New York City split uranium atoms by bombarding them with barium.
Say cheese: We’ll take 34,000 pounds of cheddar … sliced thin, please.
So cheesy: Much less radioactive was the world’s largest-ever chunk of cheese – a 34,591-pound, 14 1/2-foot-diameter cheddar block completed on Jan. 22, 1964, by workers at Wisconsin-based Steve’s Cheese, who dedicated more than 17,000 quarts of milk to the cause.
Also pretty cheesy: But also very funny, as “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” – which combined comedic skits, sight gags, political commentary and a cavalcade of stars (ranging from hosts Dan Rowan and Dick Martin to cast members Lily Tomlin, Arte Johnson, Ruth Buzzi and many others) – debuted 57 years ago tonight on the NBC Television Network.
Mumbo jumbo: The Jet Age’s second stage – the Jumbo Jet Age – took off on this date in 1970, when Boeing’s wide-bodied 747 entered commercial service with a 6 1/2-hour Pan Am flight from New York to London.
You choose … you lose: And it was Jan. 22, 1973, when the Roe v. Wade decision – declaring a Constitutional right to an abortion – was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, cementing this nation as a beacon of individual freedom.
Despite the fact that only 33 percent of U.S. adults wanted to see Roe v. Wade overturned, the fundamental right was stripped away in 2022 by an ultra-conservative SCOTUS handpicked specifically for that purpose.
Just the facts: English philosopher, lawyer, statesman and Lord Chancellor of England Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) – the “Father of Empiricism,” remembered best as a pioneer of natural philosophy and scientific method – would be 464 years old today.
Eternal soul: The circumstances around Sam Cooke’s untimely death remain dubious to this day.
Also born on Jan. 22 were French physicist and mathematician André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836), founder of the science of electromagnetism (more electromagnetism below); British poet Lord George Byron (1788-1824), a major (if scandalous) cornerstone of the Romantic movement; American auteur David Wark “D.W.” Griffith (1875-1948), among history’s most influential filmmakers; American singer, songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur Sameul Cooke (1931-1964), who made Soul sweet; and Canadian ice hockey great Michael Dean Bossy (1957-2022), who led the New York Islanders to four straight Stanley Cup titles.
Nothing but net: And take a bow, Caitlin Elizabeth Clark! The American professional basketball player – one of the greatest collegiate players of all time, now a bona fide global superstar hooping for the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Indiana Fever – turns 23 today.
Wish the WNBA wunderkind well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events are our favorite double-double.
About our sponsor: ZE Creative Communications is a full-service integrated marketing communications agency specializing in public relations, creative marketing, crisis communication and social media. Founded in Great Neck, ZE Creative Communications has been helping clients create compelling and successful messaging campaigns for more than three decades. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Proud patenting: Melville-based Canon USA and Japanese mothership Canon Inc. are celebrating another strong year of collecting U.S. patents.
Canon Inc. ranked ninth in the number of patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2024, according to Connecticut-based patent-data analyst IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. While those 2,329 U.S. patents didn’t place the Japanese conglomerate in the top five annual U.S. patent-earners (for the first time in nearly two decades), they were good enough to secure Canon’s 41st straight appearance in the top 10 – and made the imaging giant the top earner of U.S. patents among Japanese companies for the 20th consecutive year.
While leveraging advances in artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technologies is critical, Canon emphasizes its pursuit of international patents as a region-by-region business strategy. “It is important to continue to pursue opportunities for innovation to help adapt to the evolving needs of our customers,” noted Canon USA Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Seymour Liebman. “Another high placement on the IFI CLAIMS list is a strong reflection of our commitment to delivering innovative ideas and solutions.”
Phenom-enal idea: Adelphi University Assistant Psychology Professor Damien Stanley will study how mental health “dimensions” alter social interactions.
Phenotype funding: The National Institutes of Health is backing an Adelphi University psychologist’s efforts to decode how different dimensions of mental health affect interpersonal and professional relationships.
The NIH has issued a three-year, $388,026 grant to Damian Stanley, an assistant professor of psychology in Adelphi’s Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, for a project titled “Identifying Social Computational Phenotypes in Mental Health.” The research will mix behavioral and psychological assessments, computational modeling and neuroimaging to explore how learning about other people is connected to mental health – and to better understand how processing other people’s beliefs, intentions and traits can be impaired in different ways across a range of mental-health dimensions.
The goal is to identify patterns – or “social computational phenotypes” – that improve future social-cognitive research and treatments. “The ability to learn about people and hold a representation of them in our mind is critical … to maintain healthy relationships and successful careers,” Stanley noted. “Specialized neural systems may support these social-cognitive processes, and their impairment is characteristic of many mental-health disorders … however, there is a lack of programmatic research on the social-cognitive aspects of mental disorders.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Magnetic personalities: A Sagaponack-based startup with enormous clean-energy ambitions made a big splash at CES 2025 with its tiny energy-harvesting generators – an electromagnetic key to unlocking the Internet of Things’ brightest future.
Back … and forth: Welcome to “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast,” where the leaders of the regional innovation economy share their backstories and forward-thinking ideas, all to benefit your personal and professional growth. The new season is underway – catch up quick!
VOICES
Voices Historian Tom Mariner traces the path of Great Neck-based mdi Consultants, the regulatory-compliance kingpin and longtime best friend of international manufacturers in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries – food-and-beverage makers, too!
Tom’s scholarly synopsis of the clever consultancy brightens our already brilliant Voices library, where the biggest brains in regional socioeconomics – masterminds of law, media, healthcare, technology, social services and more – share their unique perspectives and smartest suggestions. Invigorate your business intellect!
Something to say? Welcome to The Entrepreneur’s Edge, Innovate Long Island’s new promoted-content news feature platform – a direct link from you to our innovation-focused audience. Progressive product to promote? Singular service to sell? Sociopolitical position to push? Shine a bright light on the big picture, the little details and everything in between with The Entrepreneur’s Edge. Living on the edge.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Sorrow, not sorry: From the melancholy to the melodramatic, social media audiences (and creators) love online tearjerkers. The BBC can’t resist “sadbait.”
Better with age: Hope you’re sitting down – a ton of influential albums across various musical genres are turning 50 in 2025. Mental Floss spins the hits.
Not quite everywhere: The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the water supply for 30 million Americans is at risk. Newsweek studies water scarcity.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Teal Health, a California-based health-tech focused on women’s health, raised $10 million in Seed funding led by Emerson Collective and Forerunner.
+ Core Sound Imaging, a North Carolina-based medical-imaging platform, received an $80 million growth investment from PSG.
+ Stoke Space, a Washington State-based aerospace manufacturer focused on creating a reusable medium-lift rocket, raised $260 million in funding led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Y Combinator.
+ Nilus, a New York City-based, AI-powered cash-management platform, raised $10 million in funding led by Felicis and Vesey Ventures.
+ Micron Biomedical, a Georgia-based developer of needle-free delivery technologies for vaccines and other drugs, raised $16 million in funding led by J2 Ventures and the Global Health Investment Corp.
+ Monalee, a Massachusetts-based climate-tech, received a $10 million financing facility from Applied Real Intelligence.
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 ZE Creative Communications). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Month By Month Edition)
Gotta be in it to win it: The cost of a Mega Millions lottery ticket will more than double in April.
Dry January … forever? For health and other reasons, this could be the year many Americans dump alcohol for good.
Dark February: The Feb. 20 end of birthright citizenship contradicts Americanism – and a century of legal precedent.
April augmentation: Enjoy those $2 Mega Millions tickets while you can.
Halcyon days: Please continue supporting the amazing agencies that support Innovate Long Island, including ZE Creative Communications, dedicated to ensuring that your best days are not in the past, but coming soon. Check them out.
