{"id":21,"date":"2025-11-11T10:41:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T18:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insidemultisite.salk.edu\/spring-2026\/?p=21"},"modified":"2026-08-11T19:56:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T02:56:43","slug":"tim-ball-and-the-facilities-services-team-maintaining-the-life-of-the-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inside.salk.edu\/fall-2026\/tim-ball-and-the-facilities-services-team-maintaining-the-life-of-the-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Tim Ball and the Facilities Services Team: Maintaining the Life of the Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Ball and his team maintains Salk’s campus and helps create the conditions for discovery.<\/summary>\n

<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"Salk<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Every day, soft morning light washes across Louis Kahn\u2019s concrete walls as the Pacific fog lifts over the courtyard.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From above, the campus appears still, its laboratories quiet beneath the steady rhythm of the River of Life water feature flowing toward the horizon.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But beneath that calm exterior, the Institute is already awake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Salk, discovery never truly stops. Neither do the systems nor the people that sustain it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air-handling systems circulate air through laboratories with microscopic precision. Chilled water moves through underground infrastructure. Engineers monitor temperatures critical to sensitive experiments. And the overnight watch teams and custodians complete their final rounds before researchers begin arriving for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Ball, executive director of Facilities Services and Operations, describes Salk as a living organism.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPower. Water,\u201d Ball says. \u201cThat\u2019s the life of the Institute.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

The Central Plant and the central meaning<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ball wasn\u2019t actively looking for a new job when he was recruited to Salk nearly 18 years ago. At the time, he was working in Long Beach, commuting from Oceanside, and raising his young son. A former colleague encouraged him to consider the opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before arriving at Salk, Ball had spent years working in higher education facilities operations, developing expertise that extended far beyond building maintenance. He had experience managing complex campus infrastructure systems, long-term capital planning, and utility operations, and served on a statewide team negotiating power procurement strategies for California institutions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is nothing like Salk\u2019s intricacies and high-stakes maintenance. That\u2019s what ultimately drew him in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As head of Salk\u2019s Facilities Services team, Ball stewards one of the world\u2019s most iconic research campuses and its 1960s infrastructure, preserving its history while preparing it for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining Salk\u2019s campus and its underground labyrinth is a unique task for a uniquely skilled team. Deep beneath the campus, the central plant\u2014the mechanical heart of the Institute\u2014distributes cooling, heating, steam, air, gas, and power across Salk\u2019s laboratories and research facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like restoring an old \u201957 Chevy,\u201d Ball says. \u201cYou get excited about it, it means something to you, and it\u2019s a part of history\u2026 that\u2019s an opportunity to make it better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for Ball, the work has never simply been about maintaining buildings or upgrading infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than just taking care of the place. It\u2019s basically inspiring the science, creating the envelope where miracles can happen.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>Tim Ball<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Years ago, as Ball sat with his father during the final stages of cancer, he remembers hearing him say, \u201cMy son works for Salk. They\u2019re gonna find a fix for this someday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m here,\u201d Ball says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moment shaped the way he sees his role at the Institute today\u2014not simply overseeing operations, but also helping create the conditions for discovery.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what does that look like?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Day-to-day commitment<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Salk
From left: Thomas Bauer, Michael McClelland, and Tim Ball.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Facilities Services consists of 48 team members supporting the campus around the clock. On average, the department receives roughly 15,000 work orders each year\u2014everything from urgent infrastructure repairs to the day-to-day operational needs that keep research moving uninterrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have 756 work orders in process currently,\u201d Ball explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Bauer, assistant director of Facilities Services, has spent 36 years working inside the Institute\u2019s mechanical core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of my time is in the shadows trying to make sure everything that everybody appreciates is still working,\u201d Bauer says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the decades, Bauer has responded to storms, floods, power outages, and infrastructure failures. He remembers moments spent managing floodwater while also restoring electrical systems and protecting laboratory freezers holding years of scientific work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScience doesn\u2019t stop,\u201d Bauer says. \u201cThey need it, they need it now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A burst pipe or mechanical failure can happen in any building. At Salk, however, the stakes are different. A seemingly routine facilities issue could jeopardize experiments, specimens, years of potentially life-saving data, or historic infrastructure. For Facilities Services, every response carries that responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike McClelland, trades supervisor, has spent roughly 17 years at Salk, beginning as a central plant watch engineer responsible for monitoring laboratory freezers, incubator temperatures, mechanical systems, and equipment alarms while most of the campus is asleep.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d have around seven miles under my belt on an average day,\u201d McClelland says of his overnight rounds through the campus. Ball\u2019s experience is similar. \u201cI go through three pairs of work shoes a year,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after decades at Salk, the Institute can still surprise McClelland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe other day, I went into a little closet shaft and thought, \u2018I\u2019ve never been in this room before,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t say that very often anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facilities Services knows Salk inside and out and understands not only the systems, but also the rhythms of the researchers working around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes we\u2019ll adjust our schedule and come in at 4 a.m., if that\u2019s what\u2019s needed,\u201d McClelland says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Facilities Services is not working around the science, they\u2019re working with the science, setting up labs, ensuring new technology can be supported, and collaborating with scientists on sustainability initiatives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"Salk
Salk Institute’s River of Life<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability and Stewardship<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For Facilities Services, sustainability is as much about stewardship and efficiency as it is about honoring the Institute\u2019s long history of innovation and forward-thinking design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of Salk\u2019s sustainability principles, Ball notes, were embedded into the campus long before sustainability became standard practice.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salk\u2019s iconic River of Life water feature, bisecting the Courtyard, is sustained through a 250,000-gallon underground cistern that captures rainwater from across the campus watershed. Louis Kahn\u2019s original design also incorporated large light wells that allow natural sunlight to reach deep into the laboratories below to reduce the need for artificial lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the Institute\u2019s orange groves and grassy areas serve a dual purpose, functioning as landscape features and natural cooling elements for infrastructure beneath the campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Facilities Services continues building on that forward-thinking foundation through modern sustainability initiatives designed to improve efficiency, maintain uninterrupted research, and reduce operational costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you can get enough savings out of it but not affect the research, that\u2019s the key point,\u201d Bauer says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an ongoing multiyear project, Facilities Services has installed motion-sensor LED lighting systems that reduce unnecessary energy use without disrupting researchers as they move between experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are doing their science, holding their samples,\u201d McClelland says. \u201cThey\u2019re not worried about turning the switch off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the Institute\u2019s LED transition has already saved roughly $350,000 annually in electricity costs, along with an additional $27,000 in yearly lamp replacement expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solar arrays above the laboratories generate approximately 500 kilowatts of electricity, offsetting an estimated 10 to 15 percent of Salk\u2019s total energy demand while helping power the systems that keep the Institute operating around the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through a combination of operational efficiencies, renewable energy production, and carbon offset procurement, the Institute has also achieved carbon neutrality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about striking the balance between understanding the old and incorporating the new,\u201d Ball continues, \u201cwhile preparing Salk for further innovation and expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

The People<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For Facilities Services, sustaining the Institute is about more than just maintaining the infrastructure. They also preserve the knowledge and culture required to keep those systems running for the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As older equipment is modernized and new technologies are introduced, Facilities Services faces another responsibility: passing decades of institutional knowledge on to the next generation of employees.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That philosophy echoes one of Jonas Salk\u2019s guiding beliefs: \u201cOur greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors.\u201d Together, Ball, Bauer, and McClelland represent nearly 80 years of institutional knowledge at Salk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bauer now spends much of his time mentoring early-career Facilities staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t train caring,\u201d Bauer says. \u201cThat\u2019s got to be ingrained in that person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bauer describes his role as part of something much larger than himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am part of the shoulders that other people stand on to make life better for everybody else,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ball, sustainability ultimately extends beyond infrastructure upgrades or energy savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t your everyday facilities job,\u201d Ball says. \u201cYou\u2019re here for the inspiration, the meaning, and the longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Salk, that longevity depends on people quietly sustaining the systems that breathe life into the campus and set the stage for discovery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every day, soft morning light washes across Louis Kahn\u2019s concrete walls as the Pacific fog lifts over the courtyard. From above, the campus appears still, its laboratories quiet beneath the steady rhythm of the River of Life water feature flowing toward the horizon. But beneath that calm exterior, the Institute is already awake. At Salk, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-hero-slider","category-in-this-issue","category-insights"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nTim Ball and the Facilities Services Team: Maintaining the Life of the Institute - Inside Salk | Fall 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/inside.salk.edu\/fall-2026\/tim-ball-and-the-facilities-services-team-maintaining-the-life-of-the-institute\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tim Ball and the Facilities Services Team: Maintaining the Life of the Institute - Inside Salk | Fall 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every day, soft morning light washes across Louis Kahn\u2019s concrete walls as the Pacific fog lifts over the courtyard. 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