Photo (left to right): Ben Whitley, Andrew Kunkler

The UCLA Cogeneration Plant produces most of the campus's electricity, steam, and chilled water, and more and more of the people running it are Bruins. Two UCLA graduates, Andrew Kunkler ('24, B.S. Mechanical Engineering) and Ben Whitley ('26, B.S. and M.S. Aerospace Engineering), work full time at the plant with CAM Industrial Solutions, the plant's operations and maintenance partner.

Ben is the newest member of the team and joined this fall as an Operating Engineer. The job asks a lot, even of an experienced engineer. Operating Engineers run and adjust the plant's gas turbines, generators, switchgear, pumps, chillers, and water treatment systems. They read electrical one-lines and heat balance documents, and they issue Safe Work Permits for Lockout/Tagout, confined space, and hot work. They also oversee contractors in the field and carry out functional and interlock testing from the control room, all on 12-hour rotating shifts that keep the plant staffed around the clock.

Andrew started in the same role in 2024 and was recently promoted to Shift Supervisor. He now leads a shift crew responsible for running the plant safely and reliably for UCLA Health, research labs, classrooms, and residence halls.

"You can't learn this job from a textbook. You learn it on the plant floor," said Michael Bellardine, who oversees the Cogeneration Plant for Facilities Management's Energy Services & Building Controls. "Andrew came in as an operator and earned his way to supervisor. Now Ben is starting down that same path. When Bruins build their careers here, the plant gets stronger and UCLA keeps its talent."

This work fits the direction Chancellor Julio Frenk has set for the university. His framework for UCLA's future, shared with faculty and staff this fall, includes UCLA for Life, a strategy that expands opportunities for continuing education, workforce preparedness, and professional growth. Its first major initiative for students, Degree Plus, builds on the traditional undergraduate degree and will connect academic credentials with career readiness and internship pathways, beginning in areas of employer demand. The Chancellor describes the goal as helping prepare Bruins "not only for their first jobs, but for successful careers and meaningful lives." Andrew and Ben show both parts of that goal: Ben is starting his first job, and Andrew is building a career.

The work also reflects the framework's broader theme of stewardship, which means strengthening the institution for the generations that follow. Training Bruins to run the campus's own energy infrastructure is one practical way Facilities Management helps build One UCLA.

Please join us in congratulating Andrew on his promotion and welcoming Ben to the Cogen team!