The department serves over 30,000 students, faculty and staff in Blacksburg, VA. Mr. Nichols is experienced in research, planning, and maintenance of cable/telephone systems, LANs, and WANs using optical and wireless networks. He managed an interoperability laboratory to develop and demonstrate advanced applications to support distance learning. Currently, he is working on optical and wireless technologies. He served on the board of directors for the Next Generation Internet Forum and participated in network development projects for Internet2, SURA, and EDUCAUSE.