Dr. Nickels researches how children with critical and terminal illnesses (cancer, HIV/AIDS, sickle-cell disease, etc.) learn mathematics through the use of educational robotics and immersive virtual reality. She conducts her research using Wonder Workshop’s Dash and Dot robots, the Lego Mindstorms EV3 robotics kits, and the HTC Vive virtual reality system. Dr. Nickels’ research has been supported in part by $1.25+ million dollars from NASA and the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation.