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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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.
2023 ANS Annual Meeting General Chair
Mark Peters is the Executive Vice President for National Laboratory Management and Operations at Battelle Memorial Institute with responsibilities for governance and oversight of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security national laboratories for which Battelle has a significant lab management role. Previously, he was the director of Idaho National Laboratory and president of Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. He was responsible for management and integration of a large, multipurpose laboratory whose mission focuses on nuclear energy, national and homeland security, and energy and environmental science and technology. He managed this national laboratory of approximately 5,000 staff in multiple nuclear and nonnuclear experimental facilities, with an annual budget of over $1.4 billion.
He served two years as chairman of the National Laboratory Directors’ Council, an independent body that coordinates initiatives and advises the DOE and other national laboratory stakeholders. Prior to joining Battelle, he served as the associate laboratory director for Energy and Global Security at Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Peters serves as a senior adviser on nuclear energy technologies, research and development programs, and nuclear waste policy. As an expert in nuclear fuel cycle technologies and nuclear waste management, he is called upon to provide expert testimony to Congress and to advise in formulation of policies for nuclear fuel cycles, nonproliferation, and nuclear waste disposal.
In recognition of his distinguished contributions to engineering, in 2021, Dr. Peters was elected as a member of The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), for leadership and contributions in advancing U.S. nuclear energy capabilities and infrastructure. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in 2015, for outstanding accomplishments in the area of nuclear science and technology. He served on the ANS Public Policy Committee and the executive committee of the ANS Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division.
Dr. Peters also serves on several boards and advisory committees, including the Idaho Power Board from 2021 to present.
He received his doctorate in geophysical sciences from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Auburn University. He has received extensive management and leadership education and training, including completion of the Strategic Laboratory Leadership Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Last modified January 19, 2023, 10:34am EST
