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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.
Technical Session|Sponsored by FCWMD
Monday, October 6, 2025|3:15–4:55PM CDT|Brentwood/Franklin
Session Chair:
Cristina Munoz-Reja Ruiz
Alternate Chair:
Edward J. Lahoda
:
Colby B. Jensen
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The U.S. Accident Tolerant Fuels Program: Recent Accomplishments Transition to Deployment
3:15–3:40PM CDT
Daniel M. Wachs (INL)
Paper
Westinghouse EnCore Accident Tolerant Fuel and High Energy Program Update
3:40–4:05PM CDT
Edward J. Lahoda (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Zeses E. Karoutas (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Robert Schillat (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Michael L. Boone (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Jorie Walters (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Katerina Frederick (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Nicholas Pocquette (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Roy Matway (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Ellen Feldsien (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Frank Boylan (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Radu Pomirleanu (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Cenk Guler (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Antoine Claisse (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Kyle Johnson (Westinghouse Electric Co.)
GNF's Accident Tolerant Fuel Program
4:05–4:30PM CDT
David Barrientos (Global Nuclear Fuel), Ian Porter (Global Nuclear Fuel), Allan Jaworski (Global Nuclear Fuel), Dan Lutz (Global Nuclear Fuel), Russell M. Fawcett (Global Nuclear Fuel), Rich Augi (Global Nuclear Fuel)
PROtect: The E-ATF Solution by Framatome - Overview of Recent Achievements and Next Steps
4:30–4:55PM CDT
Thomas Garnier (Framatome), Mike Harkin (Framatome), Nicolas Vioujard (Framatome)
Unlocking Economic Nuclear Capacity: The Role of Advanced Fuel Technologies in Power Uprates
4:55–5:20PM CDT
Koroush Shirvan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Aladar Csontos (Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI))
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