His team integrates field, laboratory, analog, and numerical approaches into geodynamical models, focusing on the physics of plate tectonics, from grain-scale deformation to earthquakes and global mantle flow. They are always looking for motivated undergraduate and graduate students to join their collaborative efforts, exploring how terrestrial planets work and evolve.

Becker's teaching interests include Natural Hazards, Geodynamics, Physics of the Deep Earth, and Numerical Modeling of Earth Systems. He currently chairs the Standing Committee on Solid Earth Geophysics, and is a member of the Board of Earth Sciences and Resources, at the National Academy of Sciences. His other service commitments include a near decade stint as Editor in Chief of AGU's Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, and currently as an editor for AGU Advances.

Thorsten has a Diplom in Physics from Frankfurt University, a Ph.D. in Geophysics from Harvard, and was a Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Post-doctoral Scholar at Scripps, UC San Diego.