The Institute for Theoretical Physics was founded in 1995 to foster theoretical physics research at the Technion. In 2005 Jacques and Colette Lewiner made a generous gift to the Institute and the naming ceremony took place in June 2006.

The mission of LITP is to promote excellence by creating an exciting international atmosphere achieved through sponsoring distinguished lecture series, workshops, meetings, and advanced schools. All these activities take place at Technion and expose the faculty and students to world renowned scientists including Nobel and Wolf laureates. This helps to bridge our distance from the big scientific centers in Europe and North America. The LITP also helps young Technion faculty to host promising young coresearchers and postdoctoral fellows. The LITP hosts international workshops, visiting scientists, and postdoctoral fellows.