Ann Wylie, PhD, Distinguished Scholar Teacher, Professor Emerita

Dr. Wylie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geology cum laude from Wellesley College and a Doctor of Philosophy in Geology from Columbia University, is a Distinguished Scholar Teacher and Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland where she first joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1972, and is a Senior Scientific Advisor at C&IH.

Dr. Wylie’s areas of expertise include mineralogy, optical mineralogy, electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction.  She is a leading mineralogist in elongate mineral particles (EMPs), asbestos, talc, and other agents with significant implications for human health.  As Senior Scientific Advisor, Dr. Wylie supports C&IH research initiatives and consulting activities by providing technical expertise on the mineralogical aspects of asbestos toxicology including the role of dimensions in carcinogenicity of elongate mineral particles and the differences between asbestiform and non-asbestiform mineral particles.  Her work relates to mineralogy and human health with an emphasis on the mineralogical characteristics of amphibole, chrysotile, and other fibrous minerals that have been associated with adverse health effects when inhaled, and the establishment of quantitative and qualitative metrics of the cancer potency of mineral fiber.  She has provided consulting for scientific projects and research to both federal government agencies and private industry.  Her work has been published by American Mineralogist, Canadian Mineralogist, Economic Geology, Environmental Research, Journal of American Industrial Hygiene Association, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Journal of Applied Toxicology, Inhalation Toxicology, Computational Toxicology, US Bureau of Mines, Geological Society of America, Environmental Protection Agency, and ASTM.  She is a fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the Mineralogical Association of Canada, the Mineralogical Society of America, and the American Geophysical Union.  In April of 2024, Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland added a special comment to the Congressional Record in honor of Dr. Wylie’s birthday and celebrating her achievements including the President’s Medal, the Scholar-Teacher Award at the University of Maryland, and the Butler Prize award by the Geological Society of Washington.  Congressman Hoyer’s full remarks can be seen here in the Congressional Record.