[1] He was nominated by the National Academy of Sciences in 1965 as one of sixteen possible candidates for the first Scientist-Astronaut Selection Program in the United States.
During the 1960s, he worked for the Aeronutronic division of Ford Motor Company, General Research Corporation in Santa Barbara, California, and the defense contractor EG&G.
They applied light-scattering techniques to the detection of biological weapons and the monitoring of food quality.
Shortly before the closure of the company in 1982, Wyatt developed an instrument for multi-angle light scattering (MALS) in which a glass capillary containing a sample was surrounded by an array of detectors.
[4][5] The U.S. Government has supported work on the identification of bioterrorism threats such as airborne bacteria[1] and metabolic poisons or carcinogens in drinking water.
[5] They are also used to monitor smog and fly ash, and identify effective antibiotics to counter bacterial infections.