Professor Wylie has researched how science and society interact at the universities of Chicago and Cambridge, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (Berlin), the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and now at UVA. She focuses on the unwritten work and workers in research communities, such as technicians, whose names and work are missing from publications, and students and volunteers, whose contributions to laboratory work are often overlooked, using qualitative social research methods, including interviews and participant observation. This topic includes who works in laboratories and what they do, how people learn to conduct research, and how workers define skill, expertise, and social status.

Since 2010 Professor Wylie has taught undergraduates majoring in science and engineering about the history, philosophy, and social studies of science and engineering. These students gain new insights into their majors and future careers. They become more well-rounded and socially-aware researchers, with the potential to improve society by applying their work to social problems.