A UTA alumnus leaned on his alma mater to help him perfect an invention that he recently patented.
Mel Jackson (’10 BA, Psychology) invented the Tabletizer, a device that attaches to the underside of a table, counter, bar, or desk to provide a convenient way to sanitize a person’s hands.
“I wanted to create a way for a person to sanitize their hands instead of going to the restroom or using a distanced sanitizer location,” he says.
Jackson collaborated with students on a senior design team in the College of Engineering to enhance the prototype. In his senior year, Austin Harvey (’21 BS, Mechanical Engineering) led the team, which included John Wortham, Jennifer Okpala, and Rocky Vera Cruz.
“Our job was to make the Tabletizer more compact and usable. We inserted infrared sensors to make it a hands-off pump,” Harvey says. “We also designed it to use less materials while keeping the dispensed volume the same.”
Raul Fernandez, professor in practice in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, says the collaboration between old and new Mavericks was great to see.
“The partnership really shows students what the real world is about,” he says. “It gives them something concrete, taking what they’ve learned in the classroom and using it for real-world solutions.”
