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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.
Technical Session|Sponsored by ETWDD
Tuesday, November 11, 2025|3:15–5:00PM EST|Room 1
Session Chair:
Justin K. Watson
Alternate Chair:
Stylianos Chatzidakis
Session Organizer:
Kyle C. Hartig
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Assessing the Potential of Generative AI Models as Participatory Design Tools
3:15–3:35PM EST
Diana Cambero Inda (University of Michigan), Caralyn Haas (University of Michigan), Gina Rubio (University of Michigan), Prish Dhagat (University of Michigan), Katie Snyder (University of Michigan), Aditi Verma (University of Michigan)
Paper
A Human Capital Development Program for Isotope R&D and Production
3:35–3:55PM EST
Braden Goddard (Virginia Commonwealth University), Jessika V. Rojas (Virginia Commonwealth University), Supathorn Phongikaroon (Virginia Commonwealth University), Mahmoud Khatab (Virginia Commonwealth University), Grace Ndip (Virginia State University), Kalantarians Narbe (Virginia Union University), Stacy L. Queern (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Clarice Phelps (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Radiochemistry Education and Research in the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program at the University of Texas at Austin
3:55–4:15PM EST
Sheldon Landsberger (University of Texas at Austin), William S. Charlton (University of Texas at Austin), Derek Haas (University of Texas at Austin), Joseph Lapka (University of Texas at Austin), Don Nolting (University of Texas at Austin)
Measurement of the Neutron Shielding Efficacy of Magnetite for Proton Therapy Facilities and Other Applications
4:15–4:25PM EST
Kijun Park (Hampton University Proton Cancer Institute), Cynthia E. Keppel (Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator), Pawel Ambrozewicz (Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility), Wright Kenneth (RAD Technology Medical System LLC), Kosinski Mike (RAD Technology Medical System LLC)
Optimizing Knee X-ray Imaging: Balancing Radiation Dose and Image Quality
4:25–4:35PM EST
Nada Alomairy (Jazan University)
Impact of Nuclear Data and Uncertainty in Practical Applications
4:35–4:45PM EST
Luiz C. Leal (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Lightning Talk - Design of Gray Rod for Smoothing Power Fluctuations
4:45–4:55PM EST
Trey Hornsby (Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin), Max C. Hoffing (Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin), William S. Charlton (Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin), Kevin T. Clarno (Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin)
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