Philip Hofmann studied physics at the Free University, Berlin and did his PhD research at the Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max Planck Society, also in Berlin. He stayed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA, as a Feodor Lynen Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. In 1998, he moved to the University of Aarhus, Denmark, where he is associated with the Synchrotron Radiation Source and the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO). His research is primarily focused on the electronic structure of solids and their surfaces.