Nicholas C. Zakas is a professional web software engineer who specializes in user interface design for Web applications using JavaScript, Dynamic HTML, CSS, XML, and XSLT. He began working on the Web his first year in college, creating a home page to keep in touch with high school friends. As the college had no Internet-related classes, Nicholas took it upon himself to learn HTML.
Out of college, Nicholas took a job with the now-defunct Radnet, Inc. as Webmaster. As time went on, his boss began giving him simple UI design tasks in between Web maintenance duties. Nicholas took this as an opportunity to expand his skills, and taught himself JavaScript and CSS, devising the company's first JavaScript-based UI components and its first CSS-based design. Not long after, he was promoted to User Interface Designer/Developer to focus on the UI design of the company's Web application.
When Radnet went under, Nicholas joined his former boss at MatrixOne, Inc., as a User Interface Designer. He continued to create JavaScript UI components and cross-browser UI solutions for MatrixOne's line of Web applications. He also taught himself how to use XML and XSLT to devise a mockup environment and propose further solutions to make the Web applications more user-friendly.
Nicholas left MatrixOne in early 2005 in an effort to expand his skills and experience. He landed a job at VistaPrint as lead software engineer, where he has continued developing cutting-edge JavaScript components and picked up valuable skills, learning Visual Basic .NET and SQL Server, among other things.
In 2006, Nicholas accepted a position with Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, CA as a frontend engineer on the My Yahoo! team. Nicholas took his client-side skills onto one of the most trafficked web pages in the world.
Though he has wanted to work with computers since high school, Nicholas was also very involved in drama his junior and senior year in high school as well as in college, where he received a drama scholarship though he majored in computer science. He has performed in Guys & Dolls, Me and My Girl, and Inherit the Wind, among others.
He also has a second-degree black belt in karate, and while he doesn't practice full-time currently, he hopes to get back to it sometime soon.
Recently, Nicholas has taken up guitar as a hobby. He may never be a big rock star, but his love for the instrument hasn't dissipated since he got his first taste as a child.