A broken nose led this former college offensive lineman to a career in academia rather than football. The exemplary educator is credited with boosting the status of behavioral science in Booth's curriculum and bringing dynamism to the classroom through realistic examples. When the Iowa native is not studying why people think and behave the way they do, he's feeding chickens, nurturing fruit trees, or splitting wood at his Chicago-area suburban farm.

由于摔斷了鼻梁，曾經在大學擔任進攻內鋒的尼古拉斯埃普利告別橄欖球運動，轉而在學術界開始了自己的職業生涯。人們認為這位堪稱典范的老師提升了行為科學在布斯商學院課程中的地位，通過講授實際案例為課堂帶來了活力。他是愛荷華州本地人，他不研究人們的思考方式和他們的行為方式的時候，就在自己位于芝加哥郊區的農場里養雞、種果樹、劈柴。