Nica graduated magna cum laude with a BS Applied Physics degree in 2018. Her work on ballistic thermal transport in graphene junctions was recognized by the College of Science as the Best BS Applied Physics Undergraduate Thesis (Leticia Shahani Award). She was supported by the UPAA of Alberta, UP Presidential, and Angelo King Scholarship grants while a student. Nica continued her graduate studies with the Condensed Matter Physics Diploma Programme at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, and later received a PhD degree in Physics from Northeastern University. She is now a faculty member at the UPLB Institute of Physics.