Simone Nicholson

Simone R. Nicholson is a scholar-practitioner whose career spans across federal and non-profit engineering sectors, higher education administration, and interdisciplinary STEM education research. Her expertise lies in designing contemporary and futuristic STEM and STEM education frameworks, conducting socio-technical studies in STEM, and advancing workforce development for underserved populations. She brings a deep understanding of systemic design, stakeholder collaboration, and institutional transformation With active federal and nonprofit research experience, and a commitment to building inclusive STEM ecosystems, Simone is prepared to contribute to roles in research science, postdoctoral scholarship, teaching faculty, or leadership in education-focused federal or philanthropic initiatives.

• Ghana, HAEC Program, 2023, Participated in education and STEM training collaboration focused on HBCUs and African universities. Training emphasized shared learning, institutional partnerships, and community-rooted education reform.
• Hopkins, Belize, 2023, Completed immersive tour and educational experience with Black Indigenous leaders on pre-colonial and decolonial approaches to STEM education and environmental sustainability. Collaborated with Palmento Grove’s educational programming.

• ORISE Doctoral Participation Award, Department of Energy, 2024
• Tufts University Distinction Award, 2024
• DEI Departmental Award, Florida International University, 2023
• GEM Fellowship, National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, 2023
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), 2023
• SMART Fellowship, Department of Defense, 2015

• Fletcher, T., Nicholson, S., Jefferson, J., Strong, A.C., Park, S.E., Moten, J., Exploring the intersecting identities of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) black women alumnae and obtaining STEM graduate degrees., Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Ahead-of-print, https://doi.org/10.1108/sgpe-03-2024-0033, 2025
• Fletcher, T., Nicholson, S., Carr, C., Fletcher, T., Boyd, B., Race to R1: An Analysis of Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) Potential to Reach Research 1 Carnegie Classification (R1) Status., American Society for Engineering Education, https://doi.org/10.18260/1-247915, 2024
• Fletcher, T. L., Nicholson, S.R., Boyd, B., Jackson, J., Park, S., Perez, P., Single-sex versus Coeducation: An analysis of mentor teacher experiences within a diverse populated summer engineering program., Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (JPEER), In progress, 2021
• Jefferson, J., Park, S., Strong, A., Fletcher. T.L., Nicholson, S.R., Moten, J., Pillars of Success., Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering (JWMSE), 2022
• Nicholson, S.R., Fletcher, T.L., In Search for Pleasurable Experiences for Black Girls and Women in Engineering and Computing., American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), June, 2022
• Nicholson, S.R., Towards Civility: Mending Intergenerational Differences Amongst Black Women in STEM., STEMNoire, June, 2022
• Nicholson, S.R., Remote Work & Satisfaction for Black Engineers and Computer Scientists., (FIE), October, 2022
• Nicholson, S.R., McKie, M., Damas,S., Exploration of Servingness across Virginia's Top Ranking HSI, HBCU, and PWI., American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE CoNECD), February, 2023
• Nicholson, S.R., MacDonald, Moore, Fairchild-Grant, Fletcher, Improving Energy-Technology Innovation Opportunities for HBCU Students Through Critical Curriculum., Waste Management Conference (WM), 2024
• Anderson D.M., L. Zeng, W.W. Kabre, S.K. Moore, E.A. Fairchild-Grant, S.E. Wasserman, K.M. Johnston, Nicholson, S.R., Environmental Justice: GIS Data Layers, Rail Corridor Analysis, and Future Research Needs., PNNL Technical Report, 2024

• Human Subjects/Social Behavior Certification, CITI Program, 2021
• Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt, North Carolina A&T State University, 2017
• Risk Management Certification, North Carolina A&T State University, 2018
• General Engineering Level 2, Defense Acquisition University, 2021
• STEM Educator Certificate, National Museum of African American History & Culture, 2021

• Graduate Student Mentee, National Women’s Studies Association, 03/01/22, Participating in a mentorship program that focuses on supporting Women and Gender Studies students on mapping out their careers and applications to the scholarship to other disciplines.
• Participant, FIU Women’s Center Annual Retreat Conference, 04/30/22, Working as a student-volunteer for the women’s center and associated programs. I supported the development of an annual women’s retreat which is for all woman identifying students across the campus to get support on mental health, academic and professional goals, and navigation of socio-economic-political issues that are specific to women and queer students and professions.
• Reviewer, Frontiers in Education, 09/01/22, Contribute to service work within the education field by being a reviewer on potential upcoming peer-reviewed journal publications related to education.
• Reviewer, American Society of Engineering Education, 08/01/22, Contribute to service work within the Engineering education field by being a reviewer on potential upcoming peer-reviewed journal publications related to Engineering education.
• Reviewer, International Journal of STEM Education, 10/01/22, Contribute to service work within the Engineering education field by being a reviewer on potential upcoming peer-reviewed journal publications related to global STEM education advancements.
• Moderator, FIU OSJI, Women Who Lead: Wise Words: Advice Session for Women Leaders, 04/15/23, Working as a student-volunteer for the women’s center and associated programs. I supported the development of an annual women’s conference that focuses on the strategies needed for women to be strategic leaders and thrive in the work/scholarship that they contribute to.
• Committee Member, Miami Black Women's Forum, 02/01/23, Working as a student-volunteer for the women’s center and associated programs. I supported the development of an annual Black women’s conference that focuses on the strategies needed for Black women to be strategic leaders and thrive in the work/scholarship that they contribute to.
• Committee Member, FIU OSJI, Women Who Lead Conference, 02/01/23, Working as a student-volunteer for the women’s center and associated programs. I supported the development of an annual women’s conference that focuses on the strategies needed for women to be strategic leaders and thrive in the work/scholarship that they contribute to.
• Reviewer, Frontiers in Education, 04/01/23, Contribute to service work within the education field by being a reviewer on potential upcoming peer-reviewed journal publications related to education.
• Reviewer, American Society of Engineering Education, 05/01/23, Contribute to service work within the Engineering education field by being a reviewer on potential upcoming peer-reviewed journal publications related to Engineering education.
• Reviewer, International Journal of STEM Education, 08/30/23, Contribute to service work within the Engineering education field by being a reviewer on potential upcoming peer-reviewed journal publications related to global STEM education advancements.
• Organizer, North Miami Mobile Library Project, 06/01/23, Lead efforts to fundraise Black literature to fill in the gaps needed for African and African American literature for K-12 Black and Brown student. Worked, independently, with non-profits within the Miami-Dade area to distribute books to target student demographic.
• Participant, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, 04/11/23, Support K-12 girl’s engineering identity development by talking about my experiences becoming an engineer, how to get involved in STEM, and resources they need to locate to support them in going into engineering fields.
• Participant, Intersections of STEM and Social Justice Workshop, 09/01/23, Learned about the different ways to get educators and education stakeholders involved in understanding the importance of implements social justice concepts into STEM curriculum and pedagogy.
• Participant, Bryant Woods Elementary School: A Girl’s Night in STEM, 08/15/23, Support K-12 girl’s STEM identity development by talking about my experiences becoming an engineer, how to get involved in STEM, and providing them some digital resources to further their math, computing, and science skillsets.
• STEM Teacher Participant, National Museum of African American History & Culture, 08/26/22, Attended a five-hour long seminar for STEM educators that facilitated the importance of the history of Black science and innovation. We were provided knowledge on how to incorporate Black science and innovation histories into our own teaching and learning practices.
• Participant, Weeksville Heritage Center: Black Feminist Manifestos Workshop, 04/30/22, Participated in a seminar to learn about the importance and applications of Black feminist theory to individuals’ academic and professional pursuits.
• Pre-Collegiate Chair, National Society of Black Engineers (Huntsville, AL), 01/15/18 - 06/01/20, Developed programs and activities for K-12 Black students looking to pursuit engineering paths post-secondary education.
• Women’s Shelter Volunteer, Downtown Rescue Mission (Huntsville, AL), 08/01/18 - 07/01/21, Organized clothing and feminine hygienic products drives for homeless women of the Huntsville area.