Your future’s so bright…: Another Friday welcomed, another workweek (mostly) conquered, another well-earned weekend on the doorstep – with a sunny 70-degree Saturday on tap for Long Island! Well done, intrepid innovators!
Just one more workday to work out first, and this bright and warm innovation-week-in-review to start it right. Let’s get busy – and don’t forget your shades!
No, no, not THAT weed: Actually, sure …. that weed too, along with all the other weeds humans ingest for medicinal and other reasons.
Weeding out: Today is March 28 and we open with National Weed Appreciation Day, which is not what you’re thinking – at least, not exclusively – but an homage to the pantheon of nutritional and medicinal weeds that humans have ingested for millennia. (For the record, a “weed” is technically any wild plant that grows in competition with cultivated plants.)
Of course, nobody will blink an eye if you combine that other form of weed appreciation with National Hot Tub Day, an annual salute to warm bubblies that feels half-empty without this little ditty.
Munchies much? Neither would anyone complain about cannabis consumption paired with National Black Forest Cake Day (layering dark chocolate, whipped cream, brandy and cherries) and/or National Eat an Eskimo Pie Day (celebrating chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bars, though they’re not called that anymore), both tempting your sweet tooth every March 28.
The holy spirit: Also changing names was a former blacksmith shop in Philadelphia, which was rechristened the Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church – the first U.S. church organized by and for African Americans – when it opened on this date in 1796.
The greatest show: Speaking of new names, showmen P.T. Barnum and James Bailey merged their traveling shows on March 28, 1881, creating the Barnum & Bailey Circus. (The Ringling Brothers joined up later, for those keeping score.)
The good fight: Also putting on an impressive show was the Salvation Army, which dedicated itself to converting the downtrodden, battling the wicked and otherwise championing the better tenets of Christian faith when it officially formed 140 years ago today.
The little things: Less focused on the Good Book, and more on the fine print, was the newfangled “Reading Machine” – the world’s first microfilm device – patented on this date in 1922 by Washington-based inventor Bradley Fiske.
Three miles of bad road: March 28, 1979, was a bad day in Londonderry Township, PA.
The worst case: And it was March 28, 1979, when the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania suffered a partial meltdown, marking the worst nuclear accident on U.S. soil (though health effects on plant workers and surrounding populations were minimal).
Flash forward 46 years, and bolstered by improved science and safety protocols, nuclear energy is making a global comeback (as detailed last month by brilliant Voices Law Anchor Michael Sahn).
His own reality: German French mathematician Alexandre Grothendieck (1928-2014) – a mystical, quasi-delirious hermit who led the creation of modern algebraic geometry and may have deciphered the metaphysical key to artificial intelligence – would be 97 years old today.
Platinum blonde: Lady Gaga, born 39 years ago today, has four platinum albums to her credit.
Also born on this date were British civil engineer Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (1819-1891), who designed London’s vast sewage system; Russian writer Maxim Gorky (born Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, 1868-1936), a proponent of socialism and five-time Nobel Prize in Literature nominee; American chemical engineer Victor Mills (1897-1997), the two-time innovation champion who invented Pringles potato chips and Pampers disposable diapers; American zoologist Marlin Perkins (1905-1986), inaugural alpha male of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”; and American rapper Cheryl James (born 1966), who put the “Salt” in Grammy-winning rap duo Salt-N-Pepa.
A round of Applause, please: And take a bow, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta! The American singer, songwriter and actress – known best as the larger-than-life Lady Gaga – turns 39 today.
Give the Shallow songstress and Americano actress your best at editor@innovateli.com, where we Just Dance when you share news tips – and we’ll Never Love Again if you don’t send some calendar events.
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College is the largest college of applied science and technology in the State University of New York system, with nearly 10,000 students and 46 degree programs focused on relevant high-demand careers. More than half of our students graduate debt-free and 82 percent are employed six months after graduation or enrolled in graduate school. Nearly 80 percent of FSC graduates stay and are working on Long Island six months after graduation. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Machine learning: Student-built robots seized control at the FIRST Robotics Competition Long Island Regional competition.
Part kid, part machine, all winners: Three Long Island robotics teams have conquered all comers at the FIRST Robotics Competition Long Island Regional competition and punched their tickets to the nationals.
FIRST Long Island (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) welcomed 49 high school teams from Long Island and New York City – and as far afield as India – to Hofstra University for the March 21-22 regional competition, in which custom-built, remote-controlled robots faced off in a series of physical challenges. The three-squad alliance of Kingsmen Robotics (Kings Park High School), the POBots (Plainview-Old Bethpage/JFK High School) and the Longwood RoboLions (Longwood High School) rolled to victory, with the RoboLions snagging the coveted FIRST Impact Award, the event’s most prestigious honor.
The three teams will now take their winning automatons to Houston for the national championships, scheduled for April 16-19. “This was one of the best Long Island Regionals we’ve experienced,” noted FIRST Long Island Executive Director Bertram Dittmar. “All participating teams demonstrated tremendous teamwork, gracious professionalism and critical thinking … participants, volunteers and sponsors had the opportunity to experience the beauty of engineering and technology combined with the excitement of a competitive event.”
Plastics package: A major-league manufacturer that relocated to Long Island in 2013 with the help of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency has received another IDA tax break – this time, to facilitate a massive renovation in Hauppauge.
Molded plastics/LED light fixture manufacturer Autronic Plastics, which moved to Long Island from North Carolina 12 years ago, has received a new tax-abatement package that will keep it on Long Island (it was considering Texas or Tennessee) and help it expand its existing 100,290-square-foot Motor Parkway facility. The company is planning a $3.5 million renovation – including a 25,000-square-foot expansion – that will retain 117 full-time jobs and create 11 new full-time positions, according to the IDA.
Autronic – a mainstay maker across automotive, aerospace, military, lighting, consumer and medical/dental industries – boasted only 85 full-timers when it arrived in 2013, and keeping the rapid-growth enterprise in the Island’s portfolio was an absolute must, according to Suffolk County IDA Executive Director/CEO Kelly Murphy. “We are pleased to assist them to ensure their presence is maintained in Suffolk,” Murphy said this week, adding the plastic pioneer’s new-and-improved headquarters would “add to Suffolk County’s expanding manufacturing base.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Do the right thing: Fair Media Council CEO/Executive Director Jaci Clement defends The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who practiced professional restraint akin to old-school journalism – and still wound up in the eye of the Signalgate storm.
Miss-behaving? Gentle reminder that Innovate Long Island’s Monday Calendar Newsletters are for subscribers only – all the innovation, education and motivation, plus a thorough rundown of business-growth opportunities on Long Island and beyond. Don’t miss a thing.
ICYMI
Energetic entrepreneurs and impressive innovators set the tone at the Spring 2025 Hofstra-Digital Remedy Venture Challenge – but health and wellness took center stage.
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.
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: Jacksonville-based hygienic healthcare headliner Seal Shield clicks with a waterproof, dishwasher-safe, super-tactile mechanical keyboard.
From Connecticut: Westport-based dog-chew champion Benebone takes fetching and tugging to new levels with its interactive, durable rubber-toy collection.
From New York City: Dining/sightseeing cruise creator City Cruises sets sail on its first-ever professional sports partnership with five Major League Baseball franchises.
ON THE MOVE
Laura Gindele
+ Laura Gindele has been appointed a member of Law360’s 2025 Insurance Authority Property Editorial Board. She is a partner at Rivkin Radler in Uniondale.
+ Amanda Vardakas has been promoted to senior HR business partner at Melville-based H2M architects + engineers. She was an HR business partner.
+ Kyle Vander Schuyt has been promoted to assistant department manager at Melville-based H2M architects + engineers. He was a senior project scientist 1.
+ Dawn Dioguardo has been promoted to chief development officer at the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs in Smithtown. She was previously director of development.
+ Laura English has been promoted to chief of staff at the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs in Smithtown. She was previously chief financial officer.
+ Three Stony Brook University faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science:
- Gordon Taylor is a professor in the SBU School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, head of the SoMAS Marine Sciences Division and director of the university’s NAno-Raman Molecular Imaging Laboratory.
- Katherine Aubrecht is an associate professor in the SBU College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry and in the SoMAS Division of Sustainability Studies.
- Michael Bender is the John L. Hennessy Chaired Professor of Computer Science in SBU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ Department of Computer Science.
+ Freeport-based Book Fairies has elected three new Board of Directors members:
- Steven Kass is managing principal at Plainview-based SMK Tax Associates.
- Patty Kim is chief academic officer at Theory & Practice in New Jersey.
- Joanna Jia is senior vice president and associate general counsel at Jefferies in New York City.
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). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Watch Your Language Edition)
Sign of the times: The in-development, AI-powered Spellring can track and translate words spelled out using ASL.
Put a ring on it: Wearable tech that translates American Sign Language in real time.
Talking down: Centuries of U.S. multilingualism, out with the bathwater.
Why’d you say that? Learn to think like a large language model.
Speaking up: Please continue supporting the innovative institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, where they’re fluent in the language of success (and all the workforce-development dialects). Check them out.
