Teaches psychology and related maths in the Psychology Department at Vanderbilt University.

As a child Niels would go with his mother to visit New York City to meet his grandparents. During these visits we would also visit Toni Cassirer (Ernst Cassirer’s widow who lived next door) and Anne Cassirer (Ernst's Cassirer's daughter). As an adult he would visit Anne, whom he liked very much, when work brought him to New York City. Niels has inherited through his mother Ernst Cassirer’s desk.