RFS/About
About RFS
A Launchpad for Next‑Gen Tech
Richmond Field Station is UC Berkeley's research and innovation hub on the Bay, blending world-class infrastructure, ecological assets, and a thriving ecosystem of researchers, startups, and public partners.
About Richmond Field Station
The Richmond Field Station is a 175-acre research and innovation campus operated by the University of California, Berkeley. Located just 15 minutes from the main Berkeley campus, RFS sits along the shoreline in Richmond's South Shoreline neighborhood, offering proximity to campus with the space and flexibility of an independent site.
RFS is home to more than 1,000 researchers, students, and startup collaborators, and features over 500,000 square feet of assignable space, including labs, offices, testbeds, warehouses, and outdoor infrastructure. The site also includes one of the world's largest earthquake shake tables and the UC-wide Northern Regional Library Facility (NRLF), which archives over 7.7 million lesser-used volumes from northern UC campuses.
In addition to built infrastructure, RFS contains three ecologically distinct habitats. The Upland Area, the Transition Zone, and the Western Stege Marsh, a protected tidal marsh that supports native plant species and endangered wildlife such as the California clapper rail. These areas are used for environmental research, teaching, and habitat preservation. Learn more on the RFS Environmental site
Research & Development
RFS brings together 1,000+ researchers, students, and startups working across disciplines. With access to world-class UC Berkeley faculty and resources, it's a space where bold ideas begin.
Prototyping & Validation
Designed for hands-on work, RFS offers flexible lab and office space, outdoor testing zones, and specialized infrastructure, making it ideal for building, testing, and refining new technologies.
Pilots & Commercialization
From field trials to real-world deployment, RFS supports the path from research to pilot to impact. It's where innovations scale, startups grow, and bold ideas go to market.
Site History
Layered Land,
Living Legacy
The Richmond Field Station sits on land with a rich and layered history, from Ohlone shoreline to industrial frontier to university testbed.
Chochenyo Ohlone Territory
The site lies within the ancestral territory of the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone people, whose descendants are members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. For generations this shoreline was used for fishing and shellfish harvesting. Nearby shellmounds, sacred cultural and ceremonial sites, once dotted the area, though many were removed during early 20th-century development, including construction of the Harborgate Tract.
Rancho San Pablo
The land became part of the Rancho San Pablo, a Mexican land grant awarded to Francisco María Castro. By the mid-1800s it had been subdivided and sold, including to Richard Stege, who operated a bullfrog farm that supplied San Francisco restaurants, a legacy still present in the naming of Stege Marsh.
Industrial Era
The site became a center of industrial activity. The California Cap Company manufactured explosives and blasting caps alongside firms such as the U.S. Briquette Company and the Pacific Cartridge Company. Production of mercury fulminate left a legacy of mercury contamination that continues to be monitored and managed today. California Cap ceased operations in 1948.
The University Arrives
The University of California acquired the first 100 acres in 1950, followed by the western portion of the site between Regatta Boulevard and Avocet Way in 1951.
Expansion & Today
UC Berkeley expanded the site with the 25-acre Regatta Industrial Center adjacent to the original campus. Today RFS stands as both a testbed for next-generation technologies and a place with a deep cultural and ecological legacy, bridging Berkeley's academic mission with the real-world needs of innovation, public partnership, and environmental stewardship.
