Nicola received her Ph.D. degree for theoretical work in the field of eddy-current nondestructive evaluation (NDE). She moved to the Center for NDE, Iowa State University, in 1999 and in 2006 was appointed Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University, receiving tenure and being promoted to the rank of full Professor in 2012. She served as a Senior Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation for two years and is presently Associate Editor of Measurement Science and Technology, published by the Institute of Physics, and Technical Editor of the Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, published by Springer. Nicola was awarded the Akinc Excellence in Teaching Award in 2011, awarded by the MSE Department, in recognition of outstanding teaching performance, and the Akinc Excellence in Research Award in 2012 in recognition of outstanding achievement in research.