Thorsten Becker holds an MSc in Physics from Frankfurt U, a PhD in Geophysics from Harvard U, and spent two years as a Green post-doc at Scripps before joining USC, where he is an assistant professor of Earth Sciences. His research interests are in seismology and geodynamics with focus on the interactions between the Earth's heat loss, mantle convection and geologically observed deformation processes, from earthquakes to mountain building. Using an interdisciplinary approach, he develops physical models of the Earth's mantle system to understand the dynamic processes. His seismological interests include earthquake interactions, the build-up of stress along faults, seismic anisotropy, and tomography. Technical expertise includes high performance computing and visualization.