• The Facility
• Current Uses

• UC Departments and Organized Research Units
• Non-UC Tenants or Organizations

• Location
• Directions

Working at the RFS Training Module

Beginning in May 2008 all staff, students, faculty and tenants are required to complete a brief electronic training about the history of the Richmond Field Station, information about the current remediation and restoration project, and safe work practices required to be followed by all members of the RFS community. This training should be completed by all new employees within the first week of hire.The Working at the Richmond Field Station is available for viewing through two mechanisms, one for UC Berkeley associated community members and the other for non-UC Berkeley tenants or members of other campuses.

For UC Berkeley students, faculty and staff:

1. Go to the IS&T etrain website at http://etrain.berkeley.edu

2. Log-in using your Calnet ID

3. Open the training course titled “ Working at the Richmond Field Station” (this is currently 33rd on the list)

4. Complete the training, including passing the short quiz at the end. Completion of the quiz is required to get credit for completing the training.

For non-UC Berkeley affiliated community members (no Calnet ID)

1. Download the Powerpoint of the presentation from the following link:
"Working at the Richmond Field Station" Training Module [34 MB ppt file]

2. Complete the training and report the date of completion to your supervisor.

The Richmond Field Station is an academic teaching and research off-site facility located 6 miles northwest of the UC Berkeley Central Campus on the San Francisco Bay that has been used primarily for large-scale engineering research since 1950. The 152-acre property consists of 100-acres of uplands with the remainder being marsh or bay lands.

Current Uses

The RFS property currently accommodates a range of research and resource conservation values. With more than 500,000 assignable square feet of research space, the site houses the 7.7 million volume Northern Regional Library Facility which serves as an archive for lesser used books for four northern UC campuses, one of the world’s largest earthquake shaking tables, sophisticated test facilities for advanced transportation research, and a regional laboratory for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The open areas of the Field Station are also prized for their research and habitat value. The site contains one of the largest and best preserved remaining areas of native coastal grasslands that were once prevalent throughout the Bay Area. The adjacent stands of eucalyptus provide a home for wintering monarch butterflies and nesting raptors. The bay marsh and mudflats provide additional habitat for a variety of flora and fauna, including the endangered California Clapper Rail, as well as an opportunity for the Berkeley campus to use these areas for teaching and research.

Art Practice Department
Focus of department has been on the teaching of fine arts in a studio setting under the guidance and mentorship of professional artists. RFS houses off campus graduate studios where there are spaces for 26 individual studios and a seminar room. Students have day access to woodworking and machine shops located there.

Center for Tissue Bioengineering Center
The 7,000 square foot research center, which is shared by bioengineering faculty and students, contains facilities for applying cell and molecular biology tools to the study and design of tissues and cells. The facilities include: nano-indenter, atomic force microscope, inverted microscopes for studying cell migration, image capture systems, scanning electron microscope, confocal microscope, HPLC, a histology suite, cell and tissue culture room, and other biochemistry tools for studying protein production and gene regulation.

Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has fifty full-time faculty members and twenty-five staff dedicated to the education of more than 250 undergraduate students and 360 graduate students. The CEE laboratories for teaching and research are among the best in the nation, providing opportunities for hands-on experience for all students.

Earthquake Engineering Research Center (EERC)
EERC is the organized research unit of the University of California, Berkeley that provides support for multidisciplinary research in earthquake engineering. Major projects include the Pacific Earthquake and Engineering Research Center (PEER), the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), and the National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering (NISEE).

• Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center
  PEER links researchers in earth sciences, engineering seismology, engineering, architecture, economics, and public policy to bridge gaps in knowledge so that new technologies can be developed and implemented to achieve the diverse life-safety, economic, and functional requirements of owners and society. PEER's mission is to develop and disseminate technology for design and construction of buildings and infrastructure to meet those diverse seismic performance objectives.
• Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation
  The US National Science Foundation has established NEES as a national, networked collaboratory of geographically-distributed, shared-use experimental research equipment sites. It specializes in earthquake simulation of large-scale structural systems through real-time integration of computer models and physical test specimens in a configurable reaction wall facility.

Ergonomics Program
The Ergonomics Program is affiliated with the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, a University of California umbrella organization that links faculty and research programs with research interest in occupational health from the Berkeley, Davis and San Francisco campuses.  The Ergonomics Program  conducts research to measure risk factors for chronic  musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities and to evaluate hand tools and other engineering solutions designed to prevent these disorders. A principal focus of research is on understanding hand and arm biomechanics during computer use. The Program has research, graduate training, continuing education and consulting components.

For more information see http://www.me.berkeley.edu/ergo/

Institute for Transportation Studies (ITS)
ITS is the oldest and largest of five transportation research groups on the campus. It has supported transportation research at UC Berkeley since 1948. About 50 faculty members, 50 staff researchers and more than 100 graduate students take part in this multidisciplinary program. ITS is home to (list only includes units with a presence at RFS):

• Partnership for Advanced Traffic and Highways (PATH)
  The PATH program researches and evaluates new technologies that can reduce congestion in California's surface transportation system and make it safer. It supports faculty-directed research at 14 universities in California and the rest of the country including research by full-time staff at RFS.
• Technology Transfer Program
  Tech Transfer works as a program to help train some of the 3,000 engineers and planners recently hired by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Overall, Tech Transfer has trained more than 4,000 professionals around the state and has taken part in evaluating traffic safety engineering and enforcement programs in 20 California communities.
• Pavement Research Center (PRC)
  The Pavement Research Center conducts research on ways to improve pavement structures, materials and technologies, often in partnership with other academic institutions and state departments of transportation, as well as private industry. The center has many recent projects in various areas of the state when it has worked collaboratively with Caltrans, the Washington State Department of Transportation, the University of Minnesota and others.

Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering includes the science and art of the formulation, design, development, and control of systems and components involving thermodynamics, mechanics, fluid mechanics, mechanisms, and the conversion of energy into useful work. The program of study includes basic subjects common to all engineering fields, fundamental subjects important to all mechanical engineers and specialization in one or more phases of mechanical engineering.

• Robotics Laboratory
  Discoveries emerging from the ongoing research in the Robotics Laboratory continue to refine the design and control of intelligent robotic systems and automated machines. The laboratory houses several robots and precision positioning devices, as well as computational hardware for controlling and designing these devices.
• Materials Lab
  The materials lab combines classical topics in design, controls and materials processing with newer research techniques in Internet-based CAD/CAM, rapid-prototyping, intelligent agents, computer graphics, micro-fabrication, artificial intelligence, and sensors. Research facilities are distributed throughout several laboratories, and are staffed and directed by up to nine faculty members.

Northern Regional Library Facility (NRLF )
The NRLF is a cooperative library storage facility, the first of its kind in California. It is owned and operated by the University of California. The 98,000 square foot main building was completed in 1982; a stack annex was completed in 1990. It offers high density, low cost housing for infrequently used library materials belonging to northern California libraries.

Richmond Field Station Operations Department
The operations department acts as the main hub for all administrative and logistic issues at the Richmond Field Station. The Richmond Field Station is a site for a variety of large-scale experimental research projects that cannot be accomplished on the Berkeley campus. It is located about seven miles northwest of Berkeley at Marina Bay in Richmond.

Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH)
The Center's Continuing Education Program, located at the University of California Berkeley, School of Public Health, offers a broad range of accredited courses for practicing health and safety professionals. The program draws upon faculty from throughout the Center as well as nationally prominent guest instructors. Courses range from a few hours to a week in length. Attendees include physicians, nurses, occupational hygienists, safety professionals, and other professionals interested in occupational health issues. The RFS training facilities are utilized by the Asbestos and Lead training program.

UC Police (UCPD)
The UC Police Department maintains a 24 hour a day presence at RFS. UCPD handles all patrol, investigation, crime prevention education, emergency preparedness, and related law enforcement duties for the campus community and operates seven days a week.

Non-UC Tenants or Organizations

Environmental Protection Agency (Region 8 Laboratory )
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment. Since 1970, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people. EPA employs 18,000 people across the country.

Watershed Project
The mission of the Watershed Project is to educate and inspire communities to protect their local watersheds. The Watershed Project has innovative programs in three main areas: workshops for educators and the general public, support for creek protection groups, and a marsh and grassland restoration project incorporating community support and education. Since 1997, the Watershed Project (formerly the Aquatic Outreach Institute) has assisted hundreds of teachers and thousands of students in preventing pollution and protecting and restoring local natural resources. We have involved thousands of members of the general public in education, restoration, and outreach projects. By sharing information on the environment in and around the San Francisco Bay--and by providing citizens with the means to act on this information--the Watershed Project empowers present and future stewards of the San Francisco Bay with the confidence and skills they need to actively participate in decisions affecting the protection and use of California natural resources.

Stratacor Inc.
Stratacor is designed to provide technical support for the development of topical pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Services are based on extensive working knowledge of the multidisciplinary sciences required to optimize topical delivery. Stratacor strives to understand and satisfy the individual needs of each client.

Schlumberger
Schlumberger is the leading oilfield services provider, trusted to deliver superior results and improved E&P performance for oil and gas companies around the world. Through our well site operations and in our research and engineering facilities, we are working to develop products, services and solutions that optimize customer performance in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

The RFS is located 6 miles northwest of the UC Berkeley Central Campus on the San Francisco Bay. Currently, a 25-minute UC shuttle bus ride connects the property to the Berkeley campus once every hour. The site has easy freeway access to the larger bay area and excellent bay and city views. The site is easily accessed on bicycle along the San Francisco Bay Trail with access over Interstate 80 at the Berkeley bicycle and pedestrian bridge.

From I-80/580 (From Berkeley, Oakland, or San Francisco)
After the Gilman Street exit, get in one of the two right lanes and take I-580 toward the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Exit on Bayview (second exit after the freeway splits). Go up the ramp and turn left (toward the Bay) at the stoplight. Go straight at the stop sign onto Meade Street. Pass the Zeneca facility and turn left on South 47th Street (the second left). Immediately turn right and stop at the RFS gate.

From I-80 (From Sacramento)
Take the Carlson Avenue exit. Turn right and go through the light at South 55th Street. Turn left at the next light, Bayview. Go over the freeway to the stop sign. Go straight at the stop sign onto Meade Street and turn left on South 47th Street (the second left). Immediately turn right and stop at the RFS gate.

From I-580 (From Marin County)
Take the Regatta Boulevard exit. Go straight through the light (onto Meade) and along RFS. Take the next right on South 47th Street. Immediately turn right again and stop at the RFS gate.

From the Berkeley Campus
Take Martin Luther King Way (which will change name to The Alameda) and turn left on Marin Avenue. Take Marin across San Pablo and Jackson Street and enter I-580 by following the sign toward Richmond (enter carefully as the ramp enters from the left.). Exit on Bayview (second exit). Go up the ramp and turn left (toward the bay) at the stoplight. Go straight at the stop sign onto Meade Street. Pass the Zeneca facility and turn left on South 47th Street (the second left). Immediately turn right and stop at the RFS gate.

Access to RFS via UC-RFS Shuttle Bus
(From Berkeley Campus)
The RFS shuttle bus starts at Hearst Mining with stops at Oxford Street and University Avenue (near the UC Garage); the Berkeley BART Station at Shattuck Avenue and Center Street; Albany Village at Jackson Street and Buchanan Street.
(From RFS campus)
From RFS to Berkeley, ask the Driver to stop at Shattuck Avenue and walk south to BART and ends at Hearst Mining via Hearst Avenue.