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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: December 9, 2022
Evan Atkinson, Institute Social Media Officer
Summary Sentence:
ECE major Stephen Fazio and his business partner Austin Hillam pitch their invention ZipString on ABC’s Shark Tank.
Full Summary:
Electrical and computer engineering major Stephen Fazio and his business partner Austin Hillam pitch their invention ZipString on Friday, Dec. 9, on ABC’s Shark Tank.
ZipString 01
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ZipString 03Stephen Fazio was looking to create a Christmas present for his father. Instead, the Georgia Tech electrical and computer engineering student ended up creating the first ZipString prototype in his dorm room.
ZipString is a toy that floats a seemingly standard loop of string in the air, carefully balancing the forces of gravity, lift, tension, and drag. With any movement the user makes, the string follows.
Fazio first met Austin Hillam at a metro Atlanta church, and this now-dynamic duo was off and running –– creating a new prototype together after just 12 days of knowing each other. They posted a video of the new prototype to TikTok and received more than 20 million views in one night.
Hillam, from Johns Creek, Georgia, is an engineering student at Brigham Young University with a passion for creating and fixing things. He attributes it to growing up in a household with a father who loves working with tools.
"My father and I never called anybody to fix anything at our house. We would just look things up and figure it out ourselves,” Hillam says. His father enjoys mentoring the pair, bringing his expertise and the same figure-it-out mentality to the ZipString team.
Fazio grew up with a love for all things electronic. When he arrived on Georgia Tech’s campus, he was focused on learning as much as he could in this area, joining RoboJackets and participating in multiple hackathons. The skills he developed at Tech have now culminated in ZipString.
Currently, working from the Hillam family basement, the ZipString team aims to improve ZipString, fulfill orders, and, of course, drum up more business.
ZipString will be featured on Friday, Dec. 9, on ABC’s Shark Tank.
