Rate My Professor Peter Becker

Dr. Peter Becker is Professor of Astrophysics and Space Sciences and Director of International Collaborations in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at George Mason University, where he has been a faculty member since 1992, progressing from Assistant Professor to full Professor. He earned a B.A. in Physics and Mathematics from Rutgers University in 1982, an M.S. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1985, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1987, with his doctoral thesis titled "Photohydrodynamical Processes Near Compact Objects" supervised by Dr. Mitchell C. Begelman. Prior to George Mason University, Becker held a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia from 1987 to 1989 and served as an NRC/NAS Cooperative Research Associate in the Space Science Division at the Naval Research Laboratory from 1989 to 1992. Throughout his career at George Mason, he has taken on significant administrative roles, including Graduate Program Coordinator since 1996, Assistant Dean and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the School of Computational Sciences from 2000 to 2006, and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in the College of Science from 2006 to 2009.

Becker's research focuses on theoretical high-energy astrophysics and mathematical physics, encompassing the structure and observable properties of accretion columns in X-ray pulsars, production of radio emission in solar noise storms, time-dependent particle acceleration in astrophysical plasmas, thermal and bulk Comptonization in accretion flows onto compact objects, radiation-dominated shock waves, outflows from accretion disks around black holes, cosmic-ray modified shock waves from supernova explosions, gamma-ray attenuation in compact sources, general relativistic effects near rotating black holes, and solutions to Heun's and Whittaker's differential equations. More recently, his work addresses solar research and space weather, including the impacts of solar flares and superstorms on satellite communications and Earth's infrastructure. He has authored or co-authored over 70 refereed journal articles, including highly influential papers such as "Thermal and Bulk Comptonization in Accretion-Powered X-ray Pulsars" (The Astrophysical Journal, 2007), "Spectral Formation in Accreting X-ray Pulsars: Bimodal Variation of the Cyclotron Energy with Luminosity" (Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2012), and "Study of the Accreting Pulsar 4U 0115+63 Using a Bulk and Thermal Comptonization Model" (Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2009). Becker has received multiple NASA/ASEE and Navy/ASEE Summer Faculty Research Fellowships between 1999 and 2005, as well as principal investigator roles in numerous NASA grants during the 1990s focused on gamma-ray observations and accretion modeling. He contributes to public understanding through media discussions on solar activity and has led major projects, such as a multimillion-dollar grant with the U.S. Navy to study solar-induced disruptions to global communications.