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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.
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Sweeney B|Session Chair: Andrew Zillmer
Tuesday, May 7, 2024|10:00–11:40AM MDT
Panel|Sweeney F|Session Chair: Lindsay Kaldon
Tuesday, May 7, 2024|1:00–2:40PM MDT
Sweeney B|Session Chair: N. Dianne B. Ezell
Tuesday, May 7, 2024|3:15–4:55PM MDT
Sweeney B|Session Chair: Michael C. Miller
Wednesday, May 8, 2024|10:00–11:40AM MDT
Sweeney B|Session Chair: Randy Bell
Wednesday, May 8, 2024|1:00–2:40PM MDT
Sweeney B|Session Chair: Mikaela Blood
Wednesday, May 8, 2024|3:15–4:55PM MDT
Sweeney B|Session Chair: Scott Wilson
Thursday, May 9, 2024|10:00–11:40AM MDT
Panel|Sweeney F|Session Chair: Timothy Reuter
Sweeney B|Session Chair: Aditya Shivprasad
Thursday, May 9, 2024|1:00–2:40PM MDT
Sweeney B|Session Chair: Georgette Alexander-Morrison
Thursday, May 9, 2024|3:15–4:55PM MDT
Coronado/DeVargas|Session Chair: Christopher (Britton) Reynolds
Sweeney B|Session Chair: Minghui Chen
Coronado/DeVargas|Session Chair: Erofil Kardoulaki
Panel|Sweeney F|Session Chairs: Lee S. Mason, Mohamed El-Genk
Coronado/DeVargas|Session Chair: Lindsey Holmes
Panel|Sweeney F|Session Chair: Kate Kelly
Coronado/DeVargas|Session Chair: Katey Lenox
Coronado/DeVargas|Session Chair: Timothy Schriener
Coronado/DeVargas|Session Chair: Mikaela Blood
Coronado/DeVargas|Cosponsored by Radioisotope Power Systems|Session Chair: Stacey L. Eaton
Coronado/DeVargas|Session Chair: Doug Burns
Sweeney CDE|Session Chair: Holly R. Trellue
Thursday, May 9, 2024|11:40AM–1:00PM MDT
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Nick R. Wozniak
Panel|Sweeney F|Session Chair: Harsh Desai
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Stacey L. Eaton
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Gabrielle Lee
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Jake R. Matthews
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Elizabeth Bluhm
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Duane Barber
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Nick Wozniak
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Roberta Mulford
Coronado/DeVargas|Sponsored by Nuclear Thermal Propulsion|Cosponsored by Radioisotope Power Systems|Session Chair: Stacey L. Eaton
Sweeney A|Session Chair: Tim Tinsley
