Jason Nichols graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from Virginia Tech in 1990. He has spent his career in software development, product management, systems integration, management consulting, cloud computing, cyber security and big data analytics. Jason has spent half his career in technical roles, and the other half in business management roles. With this mix of expertise, he helps his customers and peers in industry find the practical application of emergent technologies to support strategic business and mission priorities. Jason manages the company's iSpace lab, a state of the art collaboration, demonstration and rapid integration facility designed for showcasing industry innovation in the areas of cloud computing, cyber security, biometrics, social media, mobile computing, Internet of Things, and data science. His work at the lab includes: Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) lab: a virtualized implementation of electric utility smart grid infrastructure assets including penetration test, internet web/email, IT network, SCADA, Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Control-DMZ assets. This work has included assisting multiple customers in finding and fixing internet-based attacks and vulnerability in IT and OT systems, including forwarding attack signature data to multiple industry leading threat detection vendors. Big Data Analytics Prototype Development and Demonstration: implemented a Cloudera-based cluster used to support customer projects, research prototypes and demonstration of analytics solutions to our DoD, Intelligence Community and commercial clients. In his spare time, Jason spends his personal time with his daughters, wife, three dogs, and enjoys hobbies that include computer gaming and web application development.
