Werrett's work explores interactions between the arts and the sciences in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. His first monograph Fireworks: Pyrotechnic Arts and Sciences in European History (University of Chicago Press, 2010) examined exchanges of skills and techniques between early modern pyrotechnists and natural philosophers in Britain, France and Russia. Werrett’s current research explores the history of what he calls "thrifty science" an experimental approach to natural inquiry foregrounding re-use, adaptation, repair and exchange. This project examines thrifty science in Britain and North America between the seventeenth century and the present, and contributes to a broader interest in relations of science and environmental history. Werrett also has a longstanding interest in Russian and Soviet sciences and has published numerous articles on this topic. He has also published articles on science, technology, and empire, including articles on Captain Cook, Russian voyages of exploration, and the development of the Congreve war rocket in India and Great Britain in the nineteenth century.