Lee Vinsel is assistant professor of Science and Technology and Society at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on the history of technology and technological change, with a particular emphasis on the role of government in shaping such processes.

His early work focused on energy policy and regulation. He researches the history, morality, and politics of maintenance and infrastructure, and has written on the history of automobile regulation, covering the period from 1893 to contemporary ideas about autonomous vehicles.

In 2014, Vinsel helped found the global, interdisciplinary research network known as The Maintainers, which studies maintenance, repair, and mundane labour with technology.