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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 OPD
Tuesday, November 11, 2025|3:15–5:00PM EST|Room 4
Session Chair:
William N. Mann
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Keith J. Drudy
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Parametric Study on Moderator Temperature Coefficient in Soluble Boron-Free SMR Core
3:15–3:35PM EST
Yuyeon Cho (KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Company), Nayeon Seo (KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Company), Jung-gyw Lee (KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Company)
Paper
Evaluation of RCS Outlet-based Control Capability for Soluble Boron-free SMR Flexible Operation
3:35–3:55PM EST
Hyunseok Noh (KEPCO Nuclear Fuel), Seongho Park (KEPCO Nuclear Fuel), Junggyu Lee (KEPCO Nuclear Fuel)
Advanced Nuclear Technologies Design and Development Needs for Commercial-Maritime Applications
3:55–4:15PM EST
Ramiro Freile (Idaho National Laboratory), Sanjay Mukhi (Idaho National Laboratory), Mauricio E. Tano (Idaho National Laboratory), Don Wood (Idaho National Laboratory), Piyush Sabharwall (Idaho National Laboratory)
Particle-Matrix Interaction in Prismatic High-Temperature Reactors Fuel
4:15–4:35PM EST
Joseph Y. Rashid (Structural Integrity Associates, Inc.), Wenfeng Liu (Structural Integrity Associates, Inc), Deena Jaber (Structural Integrity Associates, Inc), Anant Mohan (Structural Integrity Associates, Inc), Alex Shrier (BWX Technologies), Gavin T. VandenBroeder (Oregon State University)
Graphite Moderated, Helium-Cooled Thermal Reactor with SiGA®-Clad UO2 Enriched to 5%
4:35–4:55PM EST
Hangbok Choi (General Atomics), Robert Schleicher (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), Jason Rizk (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), John Bolin (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), Christopher Ellis (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), Ryan Hon (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), Mohammad Alavi (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems), Christina A. Back (General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems)
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