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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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From operator to entrepreneur: David Garcia applies outage management lessons
David Garcia
If ComEd’s Zion plant in northern Illinois hadn’t closed in 1998, David Garcia might still be there, where he got his start in nuclear power as an operator at age 24.
But in his ninth year working there, Zion closed, and Garcia moved on to a series of new roles—including at Wisconsin’s Point Beach plant, the corporate offices of Minnesota’s Xcel Energy, and on the supplier side at PaR Nuclear—into an on-the-job education that he augmented with degrees in business and divinity that he sought later in life.
Garcia started his own company—Waymaker Resource Group—in 2014. Recently, Waymaker has been supporting Holtec’s restart project at the Palisades plant with staffing and analysis. Palisades sits almost exactly due east of the fully decommissioned Zion site on the other side of Lake Michigan and is poised to operate again after what amounts to an extended outage of more than three years. Holtec also plans to build more reactors at the same site.
For Garcia, the takeaway is clear: “This industry is not going away. Nuclear power and the adjacent industries that support nuclear power—and clean energy, period—are going to be needed for decades upon decades.”
In July, Garcia talked with Nuclear News staff writer Susan Gallier about his career and what he has learned about running successful outages and other projects.
To add or remove a session from your itinerary, please check the circle to the left of its title.
3:15–5:15PM CDT
Chicago Ballroom G
Session Chair: Stephanie L. Morrow|Alternate Chair: Jari O. Laarni
Panel|Clark
Session Chair: N. Dianne B. Ezell|Alternate Chair: Pattrick Calderoni
Chicago Ballroom E
Session Chair: Brendan Kochunas|Alternate Chair: Jamie B. Coble
Chicago Ballroom F
Session Chair: Stylianos Chatzidakis|Alternate Chair: Fan Zhang
Chicago Ballroom H
Session Chair: Espen Nystad|Alternate Chair: Anna Hall
Miami/Scottsdale
Session Chair: Xingang Zhao|Alternate Chair: Syed Bahauddin Alam
10:00–11:45AM CDT
Session Chair: Anna Hall|Alternate Chair: Jari O. Laarni
Session Chair: Jamie B. Coble|Alternate Chair: Xingang Zhao
Session Chair: Matthew L. Dennis|Alternate Chair: Stephanie L. Morrow
Session Chair: Pradeep Ramuhalli|Alternate Chair: Brendan M. Kochunas
Session Chair: Christianna Howard|Alternate Chair: Pareez Golub
Session Chair: Stylianos Chatzidakis|Alternate Chair: Konstantinos Gkouliaras
1:00–2:45PM CDT
Session Chair: Jason Castro|Alternate Chair: Syed Bahauddin Alam
Session Chair: Dinesh Taneja|Alternate Chair: Andrew M. Nack
Session Chair: Rodney Busquim e Silva|Alternate Chair: Fan Zhang
Session Chair: Forrest Shriver|Alternate Chair: Yunfei Zhao
Session Chair: Fan Zhang|Alternate Chair: Antonio Di Buono
Session Chair: Vivek Agarwal|Alternate Chair: Syed Bahauddin Alam
Session Chair: Sajedul Talukder|Alternate Chair: Jamie B. Coble
Session Chair: Antonio Di Buono|Alternate Chair: Jamie B. Coble
Session Chair: Casey R. Kovesdi|Alternate Chair: Niav M. Hughes Green
Session Chair: Nelly Ngoy Kubelwa|Alternate Chair: Yun Goo Kim
Session Chair: Man Gyun Na|Alternate Chair: Johannes Pickelmann
Session Chair: David Allison|Alternate Chair: Fan Zhang
Kane
Session Chair: Edward L. Quinn|Alternate Chair: Ian Jung
Session Chair: Niav M. Hughes Green|Alternate Chair: Casey R. Kovesdi
Session Chair: Rodney Busquim e Silva|Alternate Chair: Xingang Zhao
Session Chair: Hyun Gook Kang|Alternate Chair: Carol S. Smidts
Session Chair: Jamie B. Coble|Alternate Chair: Vivek Agarwal
Session Chair: Angela Di Fulvio|Alternate Chair: Shoaib Usman
Session Chair: Sajedul Talukder|Alternate Chair: Syed Bahauddin Alam
Session Chair: Fan Zhang|Alternate Chair: Stylianos Chatzidakis
Session Chair: Diego Mandelli|Alternate Chair: Jonghyun Kim
Session Chair: Syed Bahauddin Alam|Alternate Chair: Jamie Coble
Session Chair: Michael T. Rowland|Alternate Chair: Joseph Oncken
Session Chair: Magnhild Kaarstad|Alternate Chair: Espen Nystad
Session Chair: Hyun Gook Kang|Alternate Chair: Syed Bahauddin Alam
Session Chair: Ge Yang|Alternate Chair: Shoaib Usman
Session Chair: N. Dianne B. Ezell|Alternate Chair: Hyun Gook Kang
Session Chair: Jamie B. Coble|Alternate Chair: Stylianos Chatzidakis
Session Chair: Carol S. Smidts|Alternate Chair: Stylianos Chatzidakis
Session Chair: Samir Darbali|Alternate Chair: Pareez Golub
