Seunnla Adelusi is an award-winning science communicator and doctoral researcher at Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS), where she develops high-value feedstocks from non-recyclable municipal waste using torrefaction, a low-energy thermochemical conversion method. She is passionate about advancing SDG 7 (Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) by diverting waste from landfills and harnessing it as an alternative energy resource.

A 2024 Vanier Scholar, Seunnla is a recipient of Canada’s most prestigious doctoral award, with a global academic journey spanning Nigeria, England, Slovenia, Sweden, and Canada. She has earned multiple international honours, including the CSME Gold Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement and the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Scholarship, which backed her master’s degrees across three universities. In 2022, she was named a SHEU Leads heroine by the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, and Education.

Seunnla is committed to research and science communication, sharing her work on waste-to-energy solutions with both scientific and general audiences. She has received awards such as the Best Poster Prize at the American Chemical Society GCISS program in the US, won the 2025 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) 3-Minute Pitch Competition, and was the 2023 champion of the UdeS 3MT competition with her speech, “Let’s Talk Trash.” Her research is conducted in collaboration with Enerkem Inc., bridging academic innovation with industrial application.

Beyond research, Seunnla is an advocate for education and gender equality. She serves as the Erasmus Mundus Association Country Representative for Nigeria, fostering global collaboration and mentoring students. She has spoken at over 50 seminars and workshops worldwide, including the 2024 One Young World Summit, the world’s largest youth leadership forum. At UdeS, she also works as a teaching assistant and participates in various projects supporting students and faculty life.