On November 27, 2012, I attended the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference in Manchester, New Hampshire to showcase Dr. Therese Willkomm’s assistive technologies. I have the pleasure of working with one of UNH’s most creative and inventive faculty members, who is regularly referred to as the MacGyver of Assistive Technology (AT). Dr. Willkomm literally travels the world lecturing on rehabilitative technologies and constructing extraordinary tools on site to help those with disabilities. She uses ordinary materials like pvc pipes, corrugated cardboard, and umbilical cord clips to innovate new and useful alternatives to high priced assistive technologies. While everything she makes may not be 100% aesthetically pleasing, it is guaranteed to get the job done.

Aside from inventing cutting edge assistive technologies, Dr. Willkomm is the director of the New Hampshire Statewide Assistive Technology Program (ATinNH, http://www.atconnects.com/), the coordinator of the UNH Graduate Certificate in Assistive Technology Program, and the coordinator of the UNH Disability Studies Minor. Needless to say, she is a very busy woman and I appreciate the time she spends working with me to protect, manage and commercialize the intellectual property she develops.

To date, Therese has submitted six innovation disclosures with our Office; one of the disclosures was for the AT Tablet Stand. In June of this year we filed UNH’s first design patent for the AT Tablet Stand. Barring any extraordinary circumstances the patent should issue sometime next fall. The AT Tablet Stand was showcased at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference and, as expected, received high interest from a number of educators and businesses. The Stand is a flexible, stable, easy to use tablet stand. What makes Therese’s Stand different from those currently on the market is that it can be positioned at any height, angle or distance from a user, it has a non-slip base offering stability, particularly to those with disabilities, and it allows for hands-free use. The Stand is designed primarily for iPad users, however it has the ability to be used with any tablet.

Currently, we are taking individual orders for the AT Tablet Stand and we have sold a number of them across the country. I am also working to license the design patent to a company that can better handle the mass manufacturing and production of the AT Tablet Stand. While the Stand was initially developed as an assistive technology for the disabled, I can personally speak to its wider appeal, as I use mine regularly when I am using a recipe in the kitchen and can’t hold my iPad.

The Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference is definitely worth attending for educators not only in New Hampshire, but also in neighboring states. It was encouraging to see the level of innovation and technology in New Hampshire.

High tech is clearly the world we live in today, but Dr. Willkomm has managed to develop a niche market for low-tech solutions. You never know what she may come up with next, so keep a lookout for the MacGyver of AT.

To continue the conversation or for more information about the AT Tablet Stand, please contact me, Timothy Willis at timothy.willis@unh.edu.