Vu Nguyen

· Army ORSA · Data Scientist

Part video gamer · part beach enthusiast · full-time nerd in uniform

“Turning complex problems into informed, actionable decisions.”

I work at the intersection of military operations, AI, analytics, wargaming, and strategy, helping leaders make better decisions with data. Throughout my career, I have learned that great outcomes usually come down to two things: genuinely taking care of your people and supporting leaders in making informed, data-backed decisions.

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Who I am

Army officer, Operations Research and Systems Analyst (ORSA), and data scientist with 13 years of service and an active TS/SCI clearance. My interest in solving complex problems began with a strong foundation in math and science while studying Civil Engineering at Oregon State University. That background eventually led me to pursue data science, culminating in an M.S. in Applied Data Science from the University of Southern California. My operational experience spans integrated air defense, leading Soldiers, serving in Korea, deploying to Bahrain and Iraq, and supporting wargaming at the division, corps, and joint levels. Today, I bring those operational and technical experiences together to apply data science, AI, analytics, and experimentation to complex joint-force challenges.

What I do

I translate operational problems into technical solutions by designing effective workflows and connecting the right data, analytics, and practical tools to solve them. In my current role, I support joint force experimentation, wargaming, AI adoption, and strategic planning while enabling better decision-making under compressed timelines.

AI integration and adoption

Operations research and analytics

Wargaming and experimentation

Decision support for leaders

Worldwide career journey

Pan and zoom the map, and select any numbered location to explore my career from leading troops to solving joint-level challenges.

Jun 2025 - Present

ORSA Officer | Data Scientist

Joint Staff J-7 · Suffolk, Virginia

Apply operations research, data science, AI, and experimentation to complex joint-force challenges. Support joint wargaming, strategic planning, analytical modernization, and AI adoption by designing workflows and decision-support tools that help leaders act under compressed timelines.

Map locations follow chronological order. Chart durations are approximate and include deployments within their parent assignments to avoid double-counting.

Featured Projects

Selected work demonstrating database design, full-stack development, data engineering, geospatial analysis, and interactive visualization.

React · D3 · Mapbox · deck.gl

Arming for Stability

Built a modular data-storytelling platform that transforms SIPRI, UCDP/PRIO, and World Bank data into interactive choropleths, flow maps, force-directed networks, parallel coordinates, treemaps, and time filters. This project showcases geospatial analytics, advanced visualization, and front-end design.

Open project → Python · Plotly · Geospatial analysis

Bigfoot Sightings Visualization

Used Python and Jupyter to transform sighting reports into interactive Plotly visualizations, including geographic heatmaps, moon-phase trends, terrain relationships, word clouds, and witness treemaps, then integrated them into a responsive web experience.

Open project → D3.js · JavaScript · Dashboard design

Country Dashboard

Built a coordinated D3.js dashboard with responsive SVG charts, tooltips, KPI calculations, and country and year filters. Combined line, pie, stacked-bar, demographic, health, and trade views to compare Norway and Sweden across multiple indicators.

Open project → MongoDB · Python · Streamlit

Property Management Application

Designed a document-oriented MongoDB data model and built a full-stack Python and Streamlit prototype for creating, querying, updating, and organizing property records, demonstrating database design, application logic, and cloud deployment.

Open project →