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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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
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August 2025
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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.
TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference
Installed Base CEO
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy
Craig Ranson is the Installed Base CEO for GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH), a world-leading provider of nuclear fuel bundles, services and advanced nuclear reactor designs including the BWRX-300 small modular reactor. In this role, he leads the fuels and services businesses for GVH.
Craig has more than 30 years of industry experience and joined GVH in June 2024 from Framatome where he most recently served as Executive Vice President of its North America installed base business. In this role, he was responsible for the development and delivery of products, services and engineering solutions for nuclear power plants in the U.S. and Canada. His previous roles at the company included chief commercial officer, chief operating officer, Vice President of Component Repair and Replacement Services and Vice President of NDE Solutions.
Craig has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech. He has completed the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) Senior Nuclear Plant Management Course and has attended the Harvard Executive MBA training course.
Last modified August 27, 2025, 2:20pm CDT
