A former Brown University physicist is applying research on water in tiny spaces to a household problem: humidity collecting around painted walls.
Derek Stein, founder of Adept Materials and an emeritus Brown professor, described the company's Lilypad paint-and-primer system in an interview published by Brown Oct. 21. The product launched earlier this year, according to the university.
Stein says the topcoat uses moisture-absorbing materials in place of some conventional fillers. The idea is to absorb water vapor when indoor humidity rises and release it as the air dries. A separate primer is intended to help keep that moisture from accumulating inside walls.
The underlying materials contain extremely small pores, similar in principle to the moisture-absorbing silica gel packets found in some packaging. Stein connected that work to his earlier research in biophysics and nanofluidics, the study of water and dissolved substances in very small channels.
Stein left his professorship in 2024 to work full time on Adept. Brown says its technology-transfer office helped with patents and commercialization. He described exterior building materials as a possible next application.
Sources: News from Brown.