Nicholas specialises in advice on rapidly changing social, political, and economic factors.

As a researcher, Nicholas has focussed on Asia’s political, social, and economic development for the past 20 years. He is currently Professor and Head of Social Sciences at the University of Tasmania.

Until 2019, he was Associate Dean in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University, where he was responsible for international partnerships, government affairs, and corporate engagement. He has undertaken significant field research across Thailand, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, and China, and has worked closely with a wide range of government and commercial organisations to support the quality of their work in Asia.

Nicholas holds a D.Phil from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.