Advancing Commercialization

By Sara Munoz ’23

To advance is to think creatively, challenge expectations, and explore all possibilities. Aggie PITCH first place award winner, COO of FluxWorks LLC, United States Marine Corps veteran, and MBA student, Daniel Zamarron ’23, is using his unexpected path and experience to pursue that advancement. From being a mechanic and technician in the military to enhancing magnetic gear technology, Zamarron has his eyes set on advancing the world’s commercialization and consistently elevates his gaze to keep learning, growing, and achieving.

Igniting the Spark

For nearly five years directly following high school, Zamarron served in the United States Marine Corps, kicking off his career in the military as a heavy equipment and boat mechanic. While stationed in Okinawa, Japan, Zamarron spent his days fixing and improving his unit’s technology to maintain optimal performance. While running diagnostics on a forklift, Zamarron found a single faulty wire in the headlight responsible for an abundance of blown fuses. After removing the wire and reporting the issue to his sergeant, he was given a confusing request— “To this day, I don’t know why he asked me to do this, but I had to splice the wire back in. And it worked.” The once damaged wire ignited a spark in Zamarron, and there began his journey exploring the wonders of electrical engineering.

When his dreams changed with the spark of electricity, Zamarron knew that an education from Texas A&M University was a crucial next step for his career. Only, he had to rediscover what it meant to be a student again. “I felt that everyone around me was sprinting, and I was just learning to crawl.” He even took an algebra book with him on his last deployment. Despite being a non-traditional student at a tradition-rich university, Zamarron persevered, pushed boundaries, and challenged expectations while finishing his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.

Pitching in the Big Leagues

Like many Aggies, his bachelor’s degree wasn’t the end of his academic career at Texas A&M. While pursuing his full-time MBA, he dove into research, allowing his creativity to lead the way. Little did he realize, this newfound interest in the business side of engineering and technology research would open up a new path for him.

Six months into his MBA, Zamarron landed the opportunity to advance his research and be a part of something bigger—changing magnetic gear technology forever. Ph.D. student, Bryton Praslicka ’24, founder of the startup company FluxWorks LLC., and one of Zamarron’s biggest mentors, invited him to assist in developing the company. They entered the fifth annual Aggie PITCH, a university-wide pitch competition presented by the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship, and Zamarron and Praslicka worked for weeks refining the company’s value proposition. They delivered a full pitch presentation to the judges and earned first place for FluxWorks. With a cash prize of $7,500, they were able to directly invest in advancing their company’s technology and exploring avenues for commercialization.

Assisting in research at Texas A&M has allowed Zamarron to expand his knowledge in both the business and engineering worlds, and by joining FluxWorks, Zamarron is able to see his research expand outside of the labs and become a real solution to real problems. “Upon the completion of a project, you normally move on without getting to see where the research goes. Rarely do you get to see the full potential, but with FluxWorks, I get to keep learning and see it impact the world.” FluxWorks serves to commercialize multiple magnetic gear technologies, and taking home first place in Aggie PITCH has allowed Zamarron and Praslicka to explore opportunities including acquiring their patent and intellectual property from the university.

A Long-term Investment

Financially, Aggie PITCH has poured into both Zamarron and Praslicka’s goals for constructing a company that exists beyond modern technology. With the ability to advance drones, wind turbines, and robotics, FluxWorks and its inventors plan to become the number one magnetic gear company in the world. Zamarron believes in FluxWorks—its goals, values, and opportunities—and understands that with its continued versatility, FluxWorks can ascend to the top of its niche field within the next few years.

In 2017, Zamarron began his Texas A&M University undergraduate career. Today, Zamarron is concluding his MBA and continuing his research in preparation for the future. Having never imagined making a long-term engineering career past the military, he has made waves in the industry. Within only a few years of ambitious thinking, he has challenged expectations, explored countless possibilities, and provided creative technical solutions to hard problems. Zamarron has set his sights on advancing commercialization through elevating modernized tech, and FluxWorks is only the beginning.

Hear about ‘Invisible Magic’ from Daniel’s voice on Mays MasterCast