Theresa Levitt is Professor of History at the University of Mississippi, where she specialises in the history of science and French cultural history. She received a BS in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MA in history from Iowa State University, and a PhD in the history of science from Harvard University.

Her first book was The Shadow of Enlightenment: Optical and Political Transparency in France, 1789-1848 (CUP 2009). Philip Ball called it "an absolute treasure trove of ideas and connections," that wove together the science of light with the tumultuous politics of France during the Revolution and beyond. Her second book, A Short, Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Lighthouse Revolution appeared with W.W. Norton in 2013 and was glowingly reviewed in the WSJ and elsewhere.