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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 MSTD
Tuesday, November 11, 2025|3:15–5:00PM EST|Room 3
Session Chair:
Jake R. Quincey
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Kenneth J. Geelhood
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Mechanical Properties of SiC/SiC Composites Neutron Irradiated at LWR Relevant Temperature to High Dose
3:15–3:35PM EST
Yuki Jimba (Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Takaaki Koyanagi (Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Paper
Design and Thermal Analysis of Novel Cladding Tensile Specimen Design for HFIR Irradiation
3:35–3:55PM EST
Abigail Till (ORNL), Dillon Cranford (ORNL), Richard H. Howard (ORNL), Nick G. Russell (ORNL), Caleb Massey (ORNL), Annabelle L. Coq (ORNL)
Design of Miniature Coated Specimen Experiments in HFIR
3:55–4:15PM EST
Jonathan R. Chappell (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), M. N. Cinbiz (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Annabelle L. Coq (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Kory D. Linton (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Flexible Irradiation Capsule Design for Rapid Evaluation of Thermomechanical Properties
4:15–4:35PM EST
Zane Wallen (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Richard H. Howard (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Christian M. Petrie (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Accelerated Irradiation Experiments of the Fast Modular Reactor (FMR) Fuel
4:35–4:55PM EST
Jason T. Rizk (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), Hangbok Choi (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), John M. Bolin (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), Christina A. Back (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems)
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