SF State student Tom Etheridge just wanted to make nice, warm baths possible for children and stroke victims. Little did he know that the revolutionary device he designed would win him international acclaim.

Etheridge, an exchange student and design major from Brunel University in London, won himself and SF State an honorable mention at the prestigious International House Wares Competition for designing the H2Aid Project, a small, plastic, oval device that measures the temperature of bath water for young children and stroke patients whose sense of touch is lost or weakened.

Etheridge, who came to San Francisco in August 2008, was one of 11 winners (three top spots and eight honorable mentions) selected out of 207 product design entries from schools all over the globe.

"The fact is that people need to start creating products and find solution for [health] problems," Etheridge said when asked about the idea behind H2Aid.

The device is designed to be made of a buoyant, high-density plastic material that can withstand extreme temperatures. Its surface is covered with lights that change color to indicate water temperature.

The concept was born through conversations between Etheridge and his girlfriend Emma Manning, who works as a physical therapist in London. Manning shared some of the problems she perceived among her patients, one of which was that people with stroke lose their ability to sense temperature and are thus unable to measure how hot or cold their bath water is.

Etheridge said that this moved him to do extensive research so that he could create a product to help those patients.

"He really spent a lot of time and research to understand this particular need," said Hsiao-Yun Chu, assistant professor of design and development. "He developed empathy for people with this important therapeutic need."

Etheridge first came up with the design for Chu's Product Design II class. He created a visual model on paper, showing the product from different angles and stages of development, and also created a miniature working model for both the class and the competition.

Chu said she chose Etheridge's design to represent SF State in the competition out of the class's projects because it was "very genuine and very compelling." It also applied many of the universal design principles the class was learning, such as product attractiveness and flexibility.

"Tom used in-depth research, focused design work, and dedication to come up with a convincing and humane solution over the course of 12 short weeks," Chu added.

Etheridge's housemates attest to the hard work he put into the product design and expressed a fond appreciation for "the strange green objects lying around [our] house" and thought the idea was "excellent."

"Tom is just a very dedicated worker," said his housemate Freddy Jordan. "He just lives for design."

Etheridge said that he wasn't expecting to win an award, and was quite shocked, but also very happy when he received an e-mail notifying him that he had won.

The H2Aid Project design will be on permanent display at a Chicago design fair.

"I'm going to take this product and refine it," Etheridge said.