Elly R. Truitt

Elly R. Truitt is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences, Department of History, specializing in the circulation of scientific objects and natural knowledge across central and western Eurasia and North Africa from antiquity into the early modern period.

• Affiliated with the Middle East Center, Global Medieval Studies, and graduate groups in History, English, and other departments
• Recipient of research support from the National Science Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Huntington Library, and Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science

Education:

• Ph.D., Harvard University
• M.A., Harvard University
• M.Phil., University of Cambridge
• B.A., Wellesley College

Her research explores how scientific ideas, practices, and objects traveled and were adapted across medieval Latin Christian, Byzantine, and Islamicate courts (750–1300), focusing on automata, timekeeping technology, and the intersection of theology and science. She is currently working on a reappraisal of medieval science's historiography, monumental astronomical clocks, courtly science case studies, and collaborative projects like analyzing Leonardo's Madrid Codex.

Grants & Support:

• National Science Foundation
• Mellon Foundation
• Huntington Library
• Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science
• Harvard University/Villa I Tatti