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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.
July 21–25, 2024
The Public-Private Pivot to Fusion Energy
Madison, WI|The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor's Club
Authors are invited to submit their TOFE work for a special issue of the ANS journal Fusion Science and Technology. Click the + for more information.
TOFE 2024 call for journal papers
TOFE 2024 has partnered with the ANS journal Fusion Science and Technology (FST) to publish a special issue of papers derived from the conference.
**Deadline extended! Submit by November 15, 2024.
Details:
Click here to submit. Please select “TOFE 2024” from the list of special issues.
Questions? Email fst@ans.org.
Thank you again for attending TOFE 2024, and I hope you participate in this special issue opportunity!
Dr. Arkady SerikovTOFE Publications ChairAssociate Editor, Fusion Science and Technology
MONDAY, JULY 228:00–9:30AMOpening Plenary: US Public Programs –Vision and Status
Ross Radel, PhD, PESHINE Technologies
Carlos Paz-SoldanColumbia University
Kevin FreudenbergUS ITER
John EcholsU.S. Department of Energy
TUESDAY, JULY 23 | 8:00–9:30AMTuesday Plenary: International Fusion Program –Recent Developments
Wednesday, July 24 | 3:45–5:30PMClosing Plenary: Private Fusion Companies –Founders’ Perspectives
Dr. Rosaria VillariENEA Nuclear Department (Frascati, ITALY)
Gianfranco FedericiEUROfusion Consortium
Kunihiro OgawaNational Institute for Fusion Science (Japan)
Dr. Chris HegnaType OneEnergy Stellarator
Kieran FurlongRealta Fusion
Greg PieferSHINE Technologies
Recent advances in the physics basis for fusion energy, combined with the emergence of new enabling technologies, have increased the imperative for the development of technology to deliver the promise of fusion energy. TOFE 2024 invites scientists, engineers, and fusion industry leaders from around the world to discuss how their scientific research and technology development are enabling this pivot. A mix of invited and contributed talks will cover topics such as fusion pilot plant studies, system and component design, enabling technologies, and industry facility needs. Tours of various fusion energy related facilities will be available. Madison, Wisconsin is one of the country’s breeding grounds for the pursuit of commercial fusion energy, and its four lakes will provide a scenic summer venue.
