Associate Professor of History Elly Truitt, author of Medieval Robots: Mechanism, Magic, Nature, and Art, is among the experts on BBC Radio 4's The Rise of the Robots. Among the topics Truitt touches on in the broadcast is the Byzantine-era "Throne of Solomon" in Constantinople, which was reported to have mechanical lions that roared and a golden tree with mechanical birds on it.
On leave for the current academic year, Truitt teaches courses on networks in the Middle Ages; medieval science, medicine, and technology; intellectual history, including the history of magic; and courtly culture. She is currently working on a book about Roger Bacon’s theory of technology and expanding her research through a New Directions Fellowship grant from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation.