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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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Sep 2025
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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.
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
The Honorable Annie Caputo was sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Aug. 9, 2022, and is serving the remainder of a five-year term ending June 30, 2026. Commissioner Caputo previously served on the NRC Commission from 2018 to 2021.
Commissioner Caputo has over two decades of government and private- sector experience in nuclear energy and security policy. Caputo has a distinguished career as a nuclear engineer and, policy advisor, and has made significant contributions related to federal nuclear energy policy.
Prior to her most recent appointment as an NRC Commissioner, she consulted for the Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory, promoting international collaboration on advanced nuclear reactors. Prior to her work at INL, she served a short-term assignment with the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, where she assisted with the National Nuclear Security Administration’s portfolio.
Prior to joining the NRC, she spent over 13 years as a staff member in the U.S. Congress advancing key policies and initiatives related to nuclear regulation, science and technology, energy, and the environment. She served as senior policy advisor for Sen. John Barrasso and former Sen. James Inhofe when each were chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Notably, she supported the Senators’ work on nuclear energy policy and NRC oversight.
From 2005-2006 and 2012-2015, she worked for the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, overseeing a variety of nuclear energy issues. She supported then-Chairman Joe Barton and Fred Upton with oversight of DOE and NRC. Prior to her positions on Capitol Hill, she worked for Exelon Corporation in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in both nuclear generation and governmental affairs.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, with an emphasis in communications. She previously studied Chemical Engineering at Michigan Technological University.
Early in her career she worked as a ski instructor and patroller, and served as a volunteer firefighter/emergency medical technician. In addition to her many accomplishments, she brings ingenuity to her hobbies as an avid quilter and crafter.
Last modified July 26, 2024, 11:41am EDT
