Mr. Nichols was appointed Acting Director – Nuclear Safety and Environmental Policy in September 2006. The mission of the Office of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Policy is to “Establish nuclear safety and environmental protection policy, requirements and expectations for the Department to ensure that workers, the public and environment are adequately protected from hazards associated with DOE sites and operations, environmental risks and impacts are minimized, and compliance with environmental protection laws, regulations and standards is achieved.”

Mr. Nichols previously served as a Team Leader of the Office of Emergency Management Oversight. As a team leader for emergency management program inspections, Mr. Nichols developed inspection plans, assembled and directed an inspection team, provided daily and end of inspection debriefs to senior management at both the site and DOE headquarters, supervised the completion of the inspection report and reviewed the site corrective action plan.

Prior to joining the Department of Energy in 2004, Mr. Nichols worked in the commercial nuclear power field. He has more than 26 years experience in the commercial nuclear power industry with Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) credentials on both Westinghouse and Combustion Engineering plants and Station Nuclear Engineer program experience for General Electric plants. Mr. Nichols served in both operations and training management at several commercial nuclear facilities will roles in event investigation and analysis, root cause analysis and human performance improvement.

Mr. Nichols graduated from Manhattan College where he received a Bachelor of Science in Degree in Business with a focus area of management practices.