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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
Jan 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|10:15AM–12:00PM EST|Room 1
Session Chair:
Justin K. Watson
Alternate Chair:
Stylianos Chatzidakis
Session Organizer:
Kyle C. Hartig
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U.S. Nuclear Fuel Cycle Workforce Data Collection to support Future Demand Modeling
10:15–10:35AM EST
Sergio García Mejía (University of Maryland, College Park), Meredith H. Walsh (University of Maryland, College Park), Saman Marandi (University of Maryland), Mohammad Modarres (University of Maryland), Michelle Bensi (University of Maryland)
Paper
Digital Twin Development for the VR-1 Training Reactor for Education, Training, and Workforce Development
10:35–10:55AM EST
Soha Aslam (The University of Texas at Austin), Ondrej Chvala (University of Tennessee Knoxville), Alexander Macris (University of Texas at Austin), Kevin T. Clarno (University of Texas at Austin)
Youth-Centered Nuclear Futures: Participatory Design as a Tool for Engagement and Equity
10:55–11:15AM EST
Aisha Jagne (University of Michigan), Andy Pham (University of Michigan), Katie Snyder (University of Michigan), Diana Cambero Inda (University of Michigan), Aditi Verma (University of Michigan)
"NuJobs": Identification and Assessment of Future Job Titles in the Nuclear Energy Field
11:15–11:35AM EST
Sola Talabi (Pittsburgh Technical LLC), Michelle Goodson (Oakridge Associated Universities), Sue Magidson (Vanderbilt University), Lori Brady (Nuclear Energy Institute), Lee Huffman (Pittsburgh Technical)
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