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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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Sep 2025
Jan 2025
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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.
Technical Session|Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Thursday, May 9, 2024|10:00–11:40AM MDT|Coronado/DeVargas
Session Chair:
Mikaela Blood (Lockheed Martin)
Alternate Chair:
Katey Lenox (INL)
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Technologies and Techniques for a Compact, Lightweight, and Versatile Nuclear Exploration Stage
10:00–10:25AM MDT
Dakota Santana (Univ. Alabama, Huntsville)
Paper
Fast Cadence Commercial Multi-Launch NTP Vehicle with Combined Boil-Off and Zero Boil-Off Tank Systems
10:25–10:50AM MDT
Craig Foulds (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Michael Eades (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Vishal Patel (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Paolo Venneri (Ultra Safe Nuclear)
Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees)
Studies on the Nuclear Salt Water Rocket Concept by Means of One-Dimensional Neutronic Modelling with Thermal Hydraulic Coupling
10:50–11:15AM MDT
Maximilian Kraus (Univ. Cambridge), Nathaniel Read (Univ. Cambridge), Eugene Shwageraus (Univ. Cambridge)
Power Adjusted Demonstration Mars Engine (PADME) Design
11:15–11:40AM MDT
Vishal Patel (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Ethan Chaleff (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Jenny Gaebel (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Morgan Gulliver (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Brian Ade (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Caen Ang (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Tanek Ballachanda (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Tom Crotzer (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Jesse Dumas (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Michael Eades (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Andrew Falkowski (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Neal Gaffin (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Marcus Gage (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Gavin Garside (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Cristian Garza (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Doug Greisen (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Tom Hinklin (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Nolan MacDonald (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Andrew Minter (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Sara Pelka (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Aaron She (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Paolo Venneri (Ultra Safe Nuclear)
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