2025 Pearl Sullivan Emerging Global Leaders Award Recipient
Jocelyne Murphy, BASc '25, systems design engineering
Jocelyne Murphy, the 2025 recipient of the Pearl Sullivan Emerging Global Leaders Award, has shown a consistent commitment to building inclusive communities and supporting underrepresented voices in engineering.
As a Systems Design Engineering student, she co-founded UW Startups and Socratica, two student-led communities focused on helping peers explore ideas, build projects, and find belonging in engineering and entrepreneurship. Collectively, these initiatives have connected over 3,000 students across 30 cities through weekly coworking sessions, events, and mentorship.
Jocelyne hopes to continue strengthening Canada’s innovation ecosystem by creating opportunities for students, especially those who haven’t traditionally felt included, to build meaningful careers in engineering. Her focus is on fostering environments where talented, driven students can connect, collaborate, and thrive together.
2025 Pearl Sullivan Emerging Global Leaders Award Finalists
Katherine Qin, BASc ’25, biomedical engineering
Katherine Qin is dedicated to improving healthcare access and inclusion in engineering. As a Biomedical Engineering student, she’s led impactful projects from advancing fetal cardiac MRI imaging at SickKids to developing a low-cost ventilator and launching a campuswide menstrual health initiative.
She also co-founded MyPeriod, a venture exploring fertility insights from menstrual biomarkers, which earned recognition at MIT GrandHack. As a four-year Engineering Ambassador and active contributor to Women in Engineering and Hack the North, she has championed outreach, mentorship, and equity-focused initiatives across campus.
Katherine plans to continue working at the intersection of biomedical innovation and equity, applying her skills to projects that address pressing global health challenges while helping more students feel seen and supported in engineering.
Wyatt Sullivan, BASc ’25, nanotechnology engineering
Wyatt Sullivan is a Nanotechnology Engineering student who has combined academic excellence, engineering innovation, and student mentorship to create a lasting impact within the Waterloo community. He has applied his technical skills across industry, academia, and entrepreneurship.
Beyond his technical achievements, Wyatt is deeply committed to making nanotechnology education more accessible. As Education Lead at the UW NanoRobotics Group, he led a team developing a hands-on curriculum to help first-year students explore advanced engineering concepts and critical thinking.
His future plans include pursuing legal studies focused on AI governance and climate law, with the goal of shaping policy through rigorous, unbiased reasoning. He hopes to eventually build an education-focused organization that equips the next generation of leaders to think critically and tackle society’s most complex challenges.
Jennifer Tsai, BASc '25, biomedical engineering
Jennifer Tsai is passionate about neuroscience, biotechnology, and improving access to research opportunities for undergraduates. During her Biomedical Engineering degree, she completed research placements in Canada, Switzerland, and the United States, contributing to projects focused on memory, movement and emotion. Her work has led to multiple publications and presentations at international conferences.
Jennifer co-founded Nucleate Dojo, a student-led nonprofit supporting undergraduates in biotech. She launched DojoGrants, a year-round research grant for underrepresented students, and helped create DojoExplore and DojoHouse, two programs that offer biotech training. Together, these initiatives have supported hundreds of students in gaining experience and entering the field.
She plans to continue her studies in a PhD program in Bioengineering at UCSF-UC Berkeley, where she will focus on patient-centered neuroscience research. She also hopes to grow Nucleate Dojo and strengthen support systems for early-career researchers from underrepresented backgrounds.
Tyler West, BASc ’25, mechatronics engineering
Tyler West is passionate about community-driven initiatives and engineering innovation. At Waterloo, he served as President and Vice President Academic of the Engineering Society, where he led 100+ volunteers, and implemented inclusive policy changes.
Tyler is co-founder and CEO of Woodpeckr, a startup born from his capstone project that designs a utility pole climbing robot to improve safety for powerline workers. He has led both the technical development and early commercialization efforts, engaging with power utilities across Canada and participating in national pitch competitions. He gained experience through firmware and embedded systems internships at UntetherAI and Northern Digital Inc., developing safety-critical software for AI and medical devices.
He hopes to continue growing Woodpeckr while exploring graduate studies, with the long-term goal of combining engineering and entrepreneurship to create solutions that serve both industry and community.