Parenthetically speaking: Well done, intrepid innovators! Another workweek completed (nearly), another weekend welcomed (almost).
Just one more (busy) workday to work through before our (well-earned) two-day blow, and this (educational and entertaining) innovation-week-in-review to start it right. Let’s finish (super) strong!
Higher aspirations: Colleges and universities are inexplicably under attack — but the smart money is still on getting that degree.
Smarter than that: Today is June 6, which of course is known best as the anniversary of the D-Day Invasion, and we’ll get into that below.
Up here, we’re opening with National Higher Education Day, a celebration of serious study and well-deserved degrees that’s more important than ever, with B-grade leaders like this and this and this rapidly dismantling the pillars of U.S. education.
Seeing things clearly: Speaking of rampant shortsightedness – or the blind leading the blind? – today is National Visually Impaired People Day, spotlighting educational efforts, supportive regulations and new medical technologies focused on the needs of blind and partially sighted people.
On a lighter note (until we step on our scales), it’s also National Donut Day, a fried-dough fiesta always glazed, frosted, sprinkled and/or cream-filled on the first Friday of June. (Naturally, freebies abound … for the love of Wegovy, please celebrate responsibly.)
Museum quality: There were celebrations in Oxford, England, when the world’s first public museum – the Ashmolean – opened its doors to the public on June 6, 1683.
Y chromosomes: The celebrations moved about 60 miles east on this date in 1844, when English philanthropist Sir George Williams founded the Young Men’s Christian Association in London.
Wheels up: They were popping corks in Detroit on June 6, 1925, when industrialist Walter Chrysler – who’d buy out the Dodge Brothers just three years later, as chronicled in our May 28 newsletter – founded his namesake automaker.
Pump you up: The national gasoline tax is now 18.4 cents per gallon (24.4 cents for diesel fuel).
Gas up: Not sure how Chrysler reacted when President Herbert Hoover signed the Revenue Act of 1932 – creating the first tax on gasoline, a 1-cent-per-gallon national levy aimed at reducing the federal deficit – 93 years ago today.
D, as in “decisive”: And the largest amphibious invasion in military history began on June 6, 1944, when the land, air and sea forces of the Allied armies stormed the beaches of Normandy.
Landing on French seashores codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, the first wave included 195,000 personnel from eight allied countries, whose blood and guts cleared the way for 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles and 570,000 tons of supplies that would come ashore over the next three weeks – creating an indefensible western front for France’s Nazi occupiers, who were already battling Russian soldiers swarming from the east.
Yo, Duncan! American manufacturer and marketing genius Donald Franklin Duncan Sr. (1892-1971) – a breakaway entrepreneur who founded the Good Humor ice cream company and the Duncan Toys Co., which leveraged the immense popularity of the yo-yo – would be 133 years old today. (Contrary to popular opinion, the innovative Duncan didn’t invent the stringed toy, which dates back to 500 B.C.)
Not his finest moment: A-list actor Paul Giamatti has logged several award-winning performances (not pictured).
Also born on June 6 were American Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale (1755-1776), who – after penetrating British lines on Long Island to steal vital war plans – had only one regret; American entrepreneur David Abercrombie (1867-1931), a miner and railroad prospector before he partnered with real estate developer Ezra Fitch to make manufacturing history; American novelist Cleo Virginia “V.C.” Andrews (1923-1986), a gothic-horror wordsmith known best for her runaway hit “Flowers in the Attic”; American astronaut David Scott (born 1932), the seventh man to walk on the Moon and the first to drive a wheeled vehicle over the lunar surface; and American singer and songwriter Gary “U.S.” Bonds (born Gary Levone Anderson, 1939), a rocking and rolling Rhythm and Blues standout (and 2006 inductee of the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame) who’s collaborated with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Southside Johnny and many others.
Yes, that was him in the rhinoceros suit: And take a bow, Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti! The American actor – a Yale School of Drama graduate who has one Emmy and three Golden Globes to his credit, plus two Oscar nominations (none of which had anything to do with this) – turns 58 today.
Give “John Adams” your best at editor@innovateli.com, where things go Sideways without your news tips – and we don’t make Billions off your calendar events, but we love them anyway.
About our sponsor: Presberg Law P.C. is Long Island’s premier “IDA” and business law firm for businesses locating, relocating and expanding on Long Island. Founded in 1984, this multigenerational practice focuses on the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of commercial and industrial real estate, SBA and other loan transactions, construction projects and business sales and acquisitions.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Pasternack meets Prezant: Farmingdale State College’s largest-ever donation has renamed its School of Engineering Technology – and supercharged the school’s focus on renewable energy, electrical engineering and more.
Welcome to the Murray Pasternack School of Engineering Technology, a new monicker officially approved this week by the State University of New York Board of Trustees and made possible by a whopping $5 million donation by engineer and entrepreneur Murray Pasternack. The gift – among the largest ever received by a SUNY technology college – is the latest endowment bestowed upon his alma mater by Pasternack (Class of 1960), who’s previously funded an array of infrastructural and programmatic efforts including an engineering scholarship program, a Radio Frequency and Microwave Technology Laboratory and Farmingdale State’s first-ever student investment fund.
Pasternack, the founder of California-based RF/microwave technology innovator Pasternack Enterprises, continues to “recognize the remarkable potential of our students and the impact they will have on the region,” according to Farmingdale State College President Robert Prezant. “This historic gift will support students who might otherwise have struggled to find essential resources,” Prezant added. “[It] will be reflected in the important contributions our students will make in an array of engineering and technology fields.”
Central avenue: Northwell Health’s new Center for Bioelectric Medicine will be an avenue for nerve-stimulation breakthroughs by Kevin Tracey and other researchers.
Center piece: The global leader in bioelectronic research – and home base for the science’s undisputed champion – has made it official.
Northwell Health has opened the doors of its clinical Center for Bioelectronic Medicine, a patient-centered hub of biotechnology realms commanded by Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research President and CEO Kevin Tracey, the globally recognized Father of Bioelectronic Medicine. The Manhasset-based center – focused largely on clinical consultations – is an opening act, of sorts, with Northwell planning to relocate and expand the facility within the next few years.
The grand opening tops off a fairly big month for Tracey, who also released a new book – “The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes” – tracing four decades of research centered on the all-important nerve and its effects on brain functions, immune systems and inflammation. “There is optimism that bioelectronic medicine could replace some drugs that have serious side effects and associated costs,” Tracey noted. “I am interested in continuing research … to better understand the language of the nervous system and see if we can use that knowledge to help the body heal itself.”
TOP OF THE SITE
RAISE-ing the stakes: Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce President Phil Andrews issues a stark warning about Albany’s RAISE Act, which could create strict AI oversight – too strict, according to Andrews, for minority business owners.
Wit and wisdom: Thank you for sharing this witty newsletter with your entire innovation team – now share your wisdom by signing them up for their own individual newsletter subscriptions. Always easy, always free, always a click away.
ICYMI
The Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency has secured a much-needed win in the witless U.S.-China trade war by helping electronics maker Orbic supersize its Hauppauge expansion – and “reshore” hundreds of manufacturing jobs on Long Island.
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 California: Irvine-based precision-peripherals prince Pwnage satisfies gamers and creators with zero-latency, key-customized magnetic-switch keyboard
From Georgia: Atlanta-based wellness app Blisstrax introduces library of customized beats and soothing sounds to help users reduce stress levels.
From California: Burlingame-based marketing master AdLift helps brands best Large Language Model search engines with artificial intelligence-driven tracking and amplification tool.
ON THE MOVE
Tracy Prush
+ Tracy Prush has been hired as a financial advisor at Hendel Wealth Management Group in Smithtown. She was an associate financial advisor at Edward Jones in Port Jefferson.
+ Andreia Pereira has been hired as an accounts payable/account receivable specialist at Woodbury-based D&B Engineers and Architects. She was an accounts receivable specialist at WindowRama in Deer Park.
+ Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler has announced four new hires:
- Kate Fohrkolb has joined the Insurance Fraud and Compliance, Investigations & White Collar practice groups. She was a special assistant attorney general (Medicaid Fraud Control Unit) in the New York State Office of the Attorney General.
- Emily Manning has joined the Health Services Practice Group. She was a law clerk at Nixon Peabody in Melville.
- Levi Stoephas joined the Insurance Fraud Practice Group. He was an assistant district attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office.
- Thomas Wolowski has joined the Professional Liability Practice Group. He was an associate at L’Abbate, Balkan, Colavita & Contini in Melville.
+ The Long Island Association has elected five new members to its Board of Directors:
- Irina Berg is industry head of the Nonprofit, Higher Education & NFP Healthcare division at Citi Commercial Bank.
- Tamra Postiglione is middle market executive/managing director (Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens) for Flagstar Bank.
- Charlie Prizzi is senior vice president of advancement and special advisor to the president at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Michael Sciortino is the general manager of UBS Arena.
- Beauclarine Thomas is the Mid-Atlantic Region public policy manager for Meta.
+ Uniondale-based Weber Gallagher has announced the hiring of four new partners:
- James Desmond was a partner at Garden City-based Pillinger Miller Tarallo.
- Neil Sambursky was a partner at Garden City-based Pillinger Miller Tarallo.
- Chris Fichtl was an associate at Garden City-based Pillinger Miller Tarallo.
- George Maniatis was an associate at Garden City-based Pillinger Miller Tarallo.
+ Lav Varshney has been named director of Stony Brook University’s AI Innovation Institute, effective Aug. 1. He is a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
+ Lonna Castro has been named director of the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library. She was director of the Quogue Library.
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 Presberg Law). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Enough To Make You Sick Edition)
Why can’t we be friends?: Viruses live inside us … can’t we all just get along?
Going viral: It’s time for a truce with our innermost viruses.
Every breath you take: What is the Air Quality Index and why should you care?
Weeding out terrorism: Meet the 22-year-old self-employed gardener appointed to lead a key counter-terrorism department.
Healthy returns: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Presberg Law, which brings vim and vigor – and decades of experience – to every land-use, M&A and commercial-law issue. Check them out.
