From its start, Westinghouse Electric Company was built on innovation and challenging the status quo. Our founder, George Westinghouse, seized countless opportunities to make technology better, faster and more efficient.
His legacy of innovation and ingenuity changed the world, and it lives on in our current employees who help to shape tomorrow’s energy. Every day, they demonstrate impressive creativity to employ remarkable technology solutions to solve our customers’ most challenging problems.
The most notable achievements of our global teams are celebrated through the annual George Westinghouse Signature Award (GWSA) program – honoring employees who demonstrate the highest standard of excellence. In 2022, we recognized a total of 32 projects supported by 198 of our global colleagues whose creativity and innovative thinking is helping to shape the world.
Through this program, we also recognize the George Westinghouse Lifetime Achievement Awardees are selected for their proven technical excellence, keen business acumen and unwavering commitment to the development of others.
This year, we are honored to recognize two former colleagues with our company’s highest award: Joni Falascino and David Stucker.
Joni Falascino
Joni dedicated 34 years of service to Westinghouse, starting in the Westinghouse Graduate Program. Throughout her tenure, she has consistently demonstrated her deep technical knowledge, passion for mentoring future leaders, and dedication for project and business excellence.
She retired in 2021 as the executive vice president of Enterprise Project Management Office (EMPO) – a role in which her leadership set the foundation for the project execution processes we utilize today. Joni also held senior leadership roles within engineering, major component replacements, Instrumentation & Controls, corporate functions and new plants, where she championed the development and deployment of our robust Nuclear Safety Culture program.
She is the first female recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award, yet she is no stranger to a trailblazing role in the nuclear industry.
Joni’s exemplary record of technical expertise and ability to translate it through business decisions and forward-thinking action has been integral to our success over the years. Her passion for our industry was not limited to technology but extended to mentoring and teaching others. Throughout her career, Joni prioritized the formal mentoring of nearly 50 employees with an emphasis on championing women and other diverse leaders. Additionally, she led an active role in the Women in Nuclear (WIN) group, serving as executive sponsor of it along with the North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN) group.
David Stucker
David dedicated his career to the nuclear industry, where he combined creativity and intelligence with optimism and determination to establish Westinghouse as the innovative leader it is today.
David passed away last year after a remarkable career spanning more than 40 years. He always led with the vision of Westinghouse being the clean energy leader of the future. As a result, he was tirelessly dedicated to leading concepts around energy storage, advanced reactors and the integration of nuclear energy with other renewable resources.
David’s expertise in several fields positioned him to be a vocal and proud proponent for Westinghouse and industry. This includes dedication to core design, fuel manufacturing, business and contract negotiations, merger & acquisition proceedings, financial modeling within the Fuel business and a commitment to innovation. He showcased his technical prowess throughout his career, as he held eight distinct patents and four additional disclosures. He was a driving force for several major fuel contracts over the past few years – specifically contracts in Korea and China – and also served as the lead negotiator for fuel-related contracts for the Sanmen and Haiyang AP1000® reactors in China.
In addition to his ability to apply his technical expertise to long-term strategies that positioned Westinghouse for success, David never missed the opportunity to help mentor the next generation of engineers on how and why nuclear energy is the technology for the future. He was an out-of-the-box thinker who strove for idealistic innovation in his work and challenged others to do the same. David’s boisterous enthusiasm for the nuclear industry was obvious to all who worked with him.
We are honored to congratulate Joni and posthumously recognize David with 2022 Lifetime Achievement Awards and celebrate their impact on Westinghouse.
David Stucker’s wife, Filomena (left), and Joni Falascino (right)
accept the 2022 George Westinghouse Lifetime Achievement Awards.
