Tom Nicholas
Forward Engineer at Earthmover
New York, New York, United States
Summary
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Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolTom Nicholas is a Forward Engineer with eight years of experience bridging computational science and open-source software, currently building tools at Earthmover in New York. He blends a strong academic background in physics and computational plasma physics (PhD work on tokamak scrape-off-layer turbulence) with practical data-science and engineering roles at Columbia and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. A core contributor to scientific Python projects like xarray and pint, he focuses on robust data handling, attribute propagation, and units-aware tooling that make complex geophysical and lab datasets easier to use. Tom’s work at [C]Worthy demonstrates an applied interest in verifying ocean-based carbon removal, showing he translates research-grade code into mission-driven environmental tools. Colleagues describe him as the kind of engineer who both rewrites critical numerical routines for large HPC codes and patiently tutors physics undergraduates—combining high-performance computing chops with clear communication.
7 years of coding experience
8 years of employment as a software developer
Physics (MPhys), 1st class honours, Physics (MPhys), 1st class honours at University of OxfordPhD, Computational Plasma Physics, Thesis title: Reduced Simulation of Scrape-Off Layer Turbulence, PhD, Computational Plasma Physics, Thesis title: Reduced Simulation of Scrape-Off Layer Turbulence at University of YorkA Levels, A Levels at Farmor's Sixth Form, Fairford
Stackoverflow
1,333reputation
49kreached
20answers
15questions
Github Skills (18)
python10
pandas10
xray10
numpy10
xa10
units-of-measurement10
testing9
datastructures-algorithms8
data-structures8
data-structure8
algorithms8
algorithm8
gis6
netcdf6
dask6
Programming languages (14)
Github contributions (5)
pydata/xarray
Oct 2018 - Dec 2022
N-D labeled arrays and datasets in Python
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:12 releases, 790 reviews, 66 commits in 4 years 1 month
Contributions summary:Tom's commits focused on implementing and refining features related to attribute handling in the xarray library. They added options to control attribute retention during operations, implemented suggestions, and fixed bugs in attribute propagation. The user also worked on improving the handling of time series data by adding the ability to drop duplicate coordinates.
pythonnetcdfnumpydaskarrays
hgrecco/pint
Apr 2020 - Apr 2020
Operate and manipulate physical quantities in Python
Role in this project:Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:6 commits, 2 PRs, 11 comments in 1 day
Contributions summary:Tom contributed to the core functionality of the `pint` library by implementing the `__iter__` dunder method, enabling the iteration of units within the registry. They added a test case to ensure the correct functionality of the new iteration method. Furthermore, the user made minor changes in documentation and resolved merge conflicts. These contributions focused on improving the library's core functionalities and adding utilities for listing units.
sarifpythonsciencebootstrappinghyphenation
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