Michael Thorpe

Michael Thorpe is an English-American physicist. He received his PhD from Oxford University in 1968 in condensed matter physics. His early research was on network glasses, but has recently focused on applying his knowledge to the study of protein dynamics.  

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In 2003, Michael Thorpe joined Arizona State University from Michigan State University. His research interests are in the theory of disordered systems, with a special emphasis on properties that are determined by geometry and topology. He has a research background in condensed matter theory, and in recent years has developed the mathematical theory of flexiblity and mobility for use in glassy networks.

His most recent work has been in biological physics. The flexible regions in proteins and protein complexes are determined from the x-ray structure as determined crystallographically. These are used to determine dynamical pathways between different protein conformations using Monte Carlo methods. Proteins are stable enough to maintain a three-dimensional structure, but flexible enough for biological function. The aim of this research work is to find underlying principles and unifying concepts, to better understand the evolution and function of proteins and protein complexes.

Recent publications

• Gohlke, H., & Thorpe, M.F. (2006). A Natural Coarse Graining for Simulating Large Biomolecular Motion. Biophysics Journal, 9, 2115-2120.
• Sartbaeva, A., Wells, S.A., Thorpe, M.F., Bozin, E.S., & Billinge, S.J.L. (2006). Geometric Modeling of Perovskite Frameworks with Jahn-Teller Distortions: Application to Cubic Manganites. Phys. Rev. Lett., 97, 065501.
• Wells, S., Menor, S., Hespenheide, B., & Thorpe, M.F. (2005). Constrained Geometric Simulation of Diffusive Motion in Proteins. Physical Biology, 2, S127-S136.
• A.R. Day, A.R. Grant, A.J. Sievers and M.F. Thorpe, “Spectral Function of Composites from Reflectivity Measurements,” Physical Review Letters, 84 1978–1982 (2000).