This status will be awarded in a highly symbolic ceremony to be held on December 16th to commemorate the 250th anniversary of this Academy. The award recognizes João Rocha's unique scientific career in the field of materials chemistry, in particular, nanoporous materials and the study of their interfaces by nuclear magnetic resonance, as well as his collaboration with Belgian scientists.

João Rocha is already a member of European Academy of Sciences - EURASC of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and Fellow of Chemistry Europe. He received, among others, career awards from the Portuguese Chemical Society, the Real Sociedad Española de Química and from Société Chimique de France. He has published about 520 peer-reviewed articles, which have received more than 25,000 citations.