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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.
November 16–19, 2020
Nuclear is good for you
Virtual Meeting|Online
On behalf of the American Nuclear Society, we thank you for joining us this week for the 2020 ANS Winter Meeting!
Even though this year’s Winter Meeting is virtual, we are pleased to bring you a most exciting, informative, provocative, and educational conferences covering every facet of nuclear science and technology.
The theme of this year's meeting is “Nuclear: Good for You.” Our aim is to highlight the myriad ways that nuclear science and technology contributes to improving our environment, health care, and overall human flourishing.
Of course, the central component of any good ANS meeting is lively and engaging scientific and technical exchange, and this year is no exception with 3 plenary sessions, 35+ panel sessions, 100+ technical sessions, and 440+ paper presentations. Two virtually-colocated conferences are also included with your registration: Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE) 2020 and The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL).
We will be exploring the larger questions of how we as a community communicate the "nutritional value” value of nuclear technology to society at large. With our meeting occurring two weeks after election day, we will also explore the coming debates on energy and climate from all sides of the ideological spectrum.
Finally, we are hosting a special Division Networking night on Monday in addition to our popular Trivia Nights being held on Tuesday and Wednesday. While it will never replace the face-to-face interaction and fellowship of an in-person ANS meeting, perhaps it can tide us over until we see each other again, hopefully in June 2021!
November's Winter Meeting promises to be one like no other. Register today!
Mary Lou Dunzik-GougarANS President
Craig H. PiercyANS Executive Director/CEO
