Wyatt Vreeland graduated magna cum laude from the University of Tulsa in May of 1997. In 1997 he began his doctoral studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. During his time at Northwestern, his research focused on developing new methodologies for high-resolution electrophoretic analysis of polymeric macromolecules in capillaries and microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" devices. These techniques were primarily geared toward DNA analysis for genetic applications. He joined NIST in 2004. His recent research has focused on using the precise and reproducible laminar flow conditions available in microfluidic systems to facilitate the self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules into liposomes and other nanoparticles.