He received his D. Phil from Oxford University in 1968 [1] in condensed matter physics under supervision of Sir Roger James Elliott.
His early research was on network glasses, but has recently focused on applying his knowledge to the study of protein dynamics.
His research interests are in the theory of disordered systems, with a special emphasis on properties that are determined by geometry and topology.
[2] In 2003, Thorpe joined Arizona State University as foundation professor and later became the founding director of the Center for Biological Physics.
Thorpe's work has connected two fundamental subjects in the topology and properties of compacted networks.