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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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Sep 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
Latest News
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.
May 6–10, 2024
Powering the Final Frontier
Santa Fe, NM
The Proceedings of NETS are now available to all who registered for the conference. Access to the Proceedings is linked to the account you used to register for NETS 2024.
You can also access the Proceedings by logging in to the ANS website and then:
We look forward to hosting NETS in May 2024! The venue for this conference is Santa Fe, the state capital of New Mexico, home to several laboratories with key roles in space nuclear power. Santa Fe is a city of ~90,000 people in Northern New Mexico located about 64 miles north of Albuquerque, the largest city of the state. Airports exist in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque for ease of travel. NETS 2024 will offer a variety of topics in space power. The first plenary session will be devoted to overall space nuclear power missions ranging from nuclear thermal propulsion to radioisotope power systems. The second plenary will give a New Mexico-centric focus with the Air Force Research Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories capabilities. The final plenary session will focus on the host laboratory, Los Alamos, and relevant history and facilities for space nuclear power missions. For those who wish to come early or stay an extra day or two to explore New Mexican culture, there are historical museums, national parks, and other tourist attractions around the area.
Speakers
Enhance your visibility at the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS 2024) by becoming a sponsor or exhibitor. Sponsors and exhibitors are recognized on the meeting website and the mobile app. All sponsors will also be acknowledged at the Opening Plenary, in promotional communications, and on signage displayed throughout the meeting. Sponsorship packages are limited, so reserve your package early. View our prospectus for more information.
