Scott Nicholson

Scott Nicholson is a Professor of Game Design and Development at Wilfrid Laurier University and Director of the Brantford Games Network (BGNlab). His work bridges academia and industry, focusing on applied games for education, escape rooms, and community engagement.

• Current Position: Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University (2015–Present)
• Past Roles: Associate Professor at Syracuse University (2001–2015); Visiting Associate Professor at MIT (2011–2012)
• Education: Ph.D. in Information Science (University of North Texas, 2000)

Research Interests include:

• Meaningful Gamification and Transformative Game Design
• Escape Rooms for Informal and Formal Learning
• Community-Driven Game Development
• Data Mining Applications in Libraries
• Low-Resource Educational Game Systems (e.g., EscapeIF)

Publication Trends emphasize game-based learning for math, literacy, and STEM, with a focus on open-source systems like EscapeIF and cultural bias mitigation in escape rooms. His work spans peer-reviewed journals, conference papers, and creative outputs like board games.

Scientific Awards:

• Robert Benjamin Research Award (Syracuse, 2005)
• Jeffrey Katzer Professor of the Year (Syracuse, 2003)
• Major Fun Award for Going, Going, GONE!
• Best Non-Digital Game at Meaningful Play 2016
• ALISE Faculty Innovation Award (2011)

Advising and Grants: Supervised Angela Ramnarine-Reiks (Ph.D. 2015). Secured over $500,000 in grants, including Cisco-funded MathPower 2.0 for Rwandan education and Red Bull-funded bias-reduction projects. Collaborated with NASA, ALA, and IMLS for game-based learning initiatives.