FEATURED AUTHOR

Neil Nicholson

Associate Professor
North Central College

Dr. Neil is has been at North Central College since 2010. He is the college's Faculty Athletic Representative to the NCAA, regularly collaborates with students on original research projects, and works diligently to bring the liberal arts into each class he teaches. He is an avid runner (participating mostly in races of the "long" variety), a bikepacker, an avid cat enthusiast (especially of Gordon and Gus, the two cats that manage his household), and a best friend to Elizabeth and Zeke.

Subjects: Mathematics

Biography

Dr. Neil spent his undergraduate years at Lake Forest College, where his love for mathematics was born.  After receiving his Ph.D. from The University of Iowa, specializing in knot theory, he spent three years as an Assistant Professor at William Jewell College.  In 2010, he arrived at North Central College, where he is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Actuarial Science.  He is passionate about not just teaching mathematics; he is passionate about engaging the individual to help each and every student find the path for them.  Whether it is through informal conversations, mentoring of student groups, research collaboration or some other avenue, he consistently reiterates his life mantra to his students: in all that you do, settle for nothing less than your absolute best.

His research interests lie mainly in the fields of geometric knot theory and discrete and computational geometry, though he also has peer-reviewed work in sustainable service learning and relationships between knot theory and musical rhythm.  The primary goal of his research is to collaborate with students.  Thus, finding projects accessible by undergraduates is always his top priority and has resulted in multiple co-authored peer-reviewed articles.

Beyond the classroom, Neil is North Central College's Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) to the NCAA and serves as advisor the NCC Cycling & Multisport Club.  He chairs the Faculty Elections Committee as well as the informal faculty Fermentation Committee, has served as a Director-at-Large for the Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America, and has served as a Coleman Foundation Faculty for his weaving of entrepreneurial approaches into his general education courses.

Dr. Neil has been very active in the M3 math modeling competition, serving as a grader for their national competition and having written multiple problems for their monthly dialogues.  He was the primary author of the 2016 national competition question, partnering with the National Park Service to write, "From Sea to Shining Sea: Looking ahead with the National Park Service."

Beyond North Central, Dr. Neil spends much of his time devoted to his passions of running (not fast but far), ultra-distance mountain bike racing and bikepacking.  He is also the founder of DTS (Dream, Train, Succeed) Coaching and works with athletes of all levels to achieve their running goals.  And last, but certainly not least, Dr. Nicholson, along with his amazing wife Elizabeth and fantastic son Zeke, spends ample time addressing the needs of Gordon and Gus, his two cats.

Education

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

Geometric knot theory, discrete and computational geometry, graph theory, algorithmic game theory

Personal Interests

Running, cycling, mountain biking, U.S. national parks, bikepacking, coaching

Books

Featured Title

Articles

Weak visibility preserving functions

Published: May 02, 2019 by Minnesota Journal of Undergraduate Mathematics
Authors: Jack Billings, Neil Nicholson
Subjects: Mathematics

Using previous work on lattice point visibility as the foundation for our approach, the topic of weak visibility preserving functions is explored. Two particular types of functions are investigated, with one always being weak visibility preserving and the other never so.