Esben Thormann obtained his PhD in Biophysics from the University of Southern Denmark in 2006 under supervision of Professor Ole G. Mouritsen. During his PhD he also spent seven months at the Australian National University in Canberra where he worked together with Professor Vincent Craig.
After completing his PhD-studies and spending another year as postdoc in Denmark, Esben went to the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm as a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow working with Professor Per M. Claesson for one year. The following five years Esben stayed in Stockholm, first as a senior researcher and later as Docent in surface and colloidal science.
In 2013, Esben became Associate Professor in physical chemistry at the Technical University of Denmark where his has built a research group focusing on polymers and functional interfaces. In 2018, Esben was appointed as Professor in surface physical chemistry at the same institution.