He was born in Bowling Green, OH and received an athletic scholarship to attend Bowling Green State University where he completed his B.S. in Technology. Upon moving to North Carolina Nolan completed his M.S. in Technology Education and is currently working on his Doctorate at North Carolina State University. Nolan is National Board Certified Teacher and has taught for over 10 years in secondary education in Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina in the areas of Technology Education, Basic and Advanced Woodworking, and Technical Graphics. His teaching specialties include technical graphics and constraint-based parametric 3D modeling. His research areas include technology, design, and engineering education, assessment in education, and STEM-based pedagogy.