Bio

Education

Nicholas got his BSc and MSc in Informatics (both cum laude) from the University of Bari (Italy) and obtained a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from IMT – Institute for Advanced Studies (Lucca, Italy). His Master’s and Ph.D. theses received two awards from the Italian Association for Automatic Calculus (AICA).

Entrepreneurial experience

In 2011, he obtained a Fulbright scholarship in Technology Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University (California, USA). He founded 4 businesses in the IT space and QIRIS, a non-profit organization devoted to supporting innovation among youth. His companies received more than 20 international awards and in 2015, Nicholas was nominated by MIT Technology Review Italy among the 10 best innovators under 35.

Academic activity

In 2017, he received a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship in robotics and automation at the University of Salford (Manchester, UK). Then, he served for 2 years as an Assistant Professor in Informatics at Fort Hays State University, where he received 5 best faculty awards. In 2019, he joined Northern Kentucky University, where he was promoted to the Associate Professor rank in 2023. His teaching and research interests include Interactive systems design, human factors, and pervasive Human-Machine Interaction. Nicholas published over 80 peer-reviewed scholarly articles. In addition to teaching, Nicholas serves as the program director of the Bachelor's degree in Applied Software Engineering.

Creative endeavors

He spends his free time writing poems and novels, painting, and composing music. He published 3 books.