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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.
10:00–11:40AM CDT
Salon A|Sponsored by FCWMD
Session Chair: Rosemary A. Montgomery|Alternate Chair: Paul E. Cantonwine
Brentwood/Franklin|Sponsored by FCWMD
Session Chair: Nathan Capps|Alternate Chair: Jean-Jérome VERMOYAL
Salon B|Sponsored by FCWMD
Session Chair: Christopher Matthews|Alternate Chair: Fausto Franceschini
Cumberland South|Sponsored by FCWMD
Session Chair: Brita Helmersson|Alternate Chair: Dan Lutz
1:00–2:40PM CDT
Session Chair: Viorel I. Arimescu|Alternate Chair: David Schrire
Session Chair: Joakim K. Karlsson|Alternate Chair: Sven O. Bader
Session Chair: Jinzhao Zhang|Alternate Chair: Hyochan Kim
Session Chair: David W. Kamerman|Alternate Chair: Cristina Munoz
3:15–4:55PM CDT
Session Chair: Uffe Bergmann|Alternate Chair: Kan Sakamoto
Session Chair: Sven O. Bader|Alternate Chair: YONGDEOG KIM
Session Chair: Ian E. Porter|Alternate Chair: Lisa M. Gerken
Session Chair: Cristina Munoz-Reja Ruiz|Alternate Chair: Edward J. Lahoda
8:00–9:40AM CDT
Session Chair: Edward J. Lahoda|Alternate Chair: Colby B. Jensen
Session Chair: Nathan Capps|Alternate Chair: Juri Stuckert
Session Chair: Zeses E. Karoutas|Alternate Chair: Christopher Van Wert
Session Chair: Cristina Munoz-Reja Ruiz|Alternate Chair: Randall J. Dunavant
Session Chair: Paul Clifford|Alternate Chair: Zeses E. Karoutas
Session Chair: Peter R. Diller|Alternate Chair: Ian Porter
Session Chair: Juri Stuckert|Alternate Chair: Dong-Joo Kim
Session Chair: Peter G. Newby|Alternate Chair: Paul E. Cantonwine
Session Chair: Dong-Joo Kim|Alternate Chair: Kurshad Muftuoglu
Session Chair: Nathan Capps|Alternate Chair: Ian Porter
Session Chair: Darren J. Skitt|Alternate Chair: Peter G. Newby
Session Chair: Kenneth J. Geelhood|Alternate Chair: Paul Clifford
Session Chair: Shinichiro Yamashita|Alternate Chair: Nico Vollmer
Session Chair: Peter G. Newby|Alternate Chair: Darren J. Skitt
Session Chair: Daniel R. Brown|Alternate Chair: Christopher Matthews
Session Chair: Daniel R. Brown|Alternate Chair: Edward J. Lahoda
Session Chair: Jerome G. Bigot|Alternate Chair: William P. Gassmann
Session Chair: Brady D. Hanson|Alternate Chair: Uffe Bergmann
Session Chair: Peter G. Newby|Alternate Chair: Aaron R. Totemeier
Session Chair: Antoine Boulore|Alternate Chair: Yutaka Udagawa
Session Chair: Kenneth J. Geelhood|Alternate Chair: Christopher Van Wert
Session Chair: Mahmut N. Cinbiz|Alternate Chair: Kazuo Kakiuchi
Session Chair: libing zhu|Alternate Chair: Zeses E. Karoutas
Session Chair: Gary Bell|Alternate Chair: Darren J. Skitt
Session Chair: Jason Medina|Alternate Chair: Ian Porter
Session Chair: Daniel M. Wachs|Alternate Chair: Jae H. Yang
Session Chair: Steven R. Biegalski|Alternate Chair: Masashi Watanabe
Session Chair: Kurshad Muftuoglu|Alternate Chair: Jinzhao Zhang
Session Chair: Jerome G. Bigot|Alternate Chair: Randall J. Dunavant
Session Chair: Daniel M. Wachs|Alternate Chair: Chao Wang
