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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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September 2025
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August 2025
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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.
International High Level Radioactive Waste Management (IHLRWM 2025)
Technical Session|Panel
Monday, November 10, 2025|3:15–5:00PM EST|Room 3
Session Chair:
John C. Wagner
Alternate Chair:
Sven O. Bader
Session Organizer:
Debate between Recycling and Direct Disposal of Used/Spent Nuclear Fuel This Panel will include brief presentations on state-of-the-art recycling technologies and the status of direct disposal activities occurring on the global stage. This will be followed by a moderated debate between those advocating for the recycling of used nuclear fuel (UNF) versus those advocating (or practicing) direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The intent of this debate is to provide insights into the decision making made in countries practicing or planning on practicing recycling of UNF versus those who are practicing or planning on direct disposal of SNF. The proposed participants include (subject to change): Recycling 1. Christophe Bruggeman, SCK CEN 2. Christina Leggett, Oklo 3. Stephan Schumacher, Andra 4. Ross Radel, Shine Direct Disposal 1. Peter Swift, US NWTRB 2. Irina Gaus, Nagra 3. David Sassani, SNL 4.Astrid Goebel, BGE
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