Dr. José A. Berrocal was born in Orvieto, Italy, in 1986.

He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry (2014) from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. During his doctoral studies, he was trained as a physical organic chemist under the guidance of Prof. Luigi Mandolini and Prof. Stefano Di Stefano.

In 2014, Dr. Berrocal relocated to the Netherlands as a postdoctoral fellow at Eindhoven University of Technology, working with Prof. E.W. “Bert” Meijer. Three years later, he joined the group of Prof. Ben Feringa at the University of Groningen. These experiences provided him expertise in supramolecular chemistry and materials, and light-driven molecules and molecular systems.

In September 2019 he embarked on an independent career at the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) at University of Fribourg in Switzerland. His research combines concepts and techniques from organic, supramolecular and polymer chemistries to tackle scientific challenges that exceed one specific field of interest. Specifically, designing and understanding stimuli-responsive materials devoted for potential sustainable and environmental applications constitutes a major drive in his research.

In July 2023, Dr. Berrocal assume the role of a group leader at ICIQ as part of ICIQ’s Starting Career Programme (ICIQ-SCP) funded by the Severo Ochoa Excellence Grant CEX2019-000925-S (MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/ 501100011033). Furthermore, he will start this new phase with an ERC Starting Grant for the project “Reversible Heterolytic Mechanophores for Dynamic Bulk Materials (ReHuse), aimed at bridging critical gap in polymer mechanochemistry and utilize this research field to contribute towards sustainable development.

Recently Dr. Berrocal has been recognized with the Thieme Chemistry Journals Prize. The award is presented annually by the editors of the German journals Synthesis, Synlett and Synfacts to the best 80 chemists from around the world in the early stage of their academic career as assistant professors or young researchers in the field of organic chemistry.