Additional bragging rights go to the collection at the Illinois Natural History Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at U. of I., boasting six of the top 20, alongside the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, with four.

Prairie Research Institute hydrologist Allison Goodwell has been selected for an early career award recognizing outstanding contributions to hydrology through research, education, or societal impacts.

In 2026, Illinois has set a new annual record number of tornadoes, set a new state hailstone record, and withstood flash floods, derechos, and seemingly everything in between — and it’s only September.

Researchers analyzing discarded nicotine vapes have found extremely high levels of lead and other metals in the liquid used in many popular disposable e-cigarette devices, raising new concerns about both public health and the fast‑growing piles of vape waste.

Illinois’ fifth wettest August brought more severe weather in an already record-breaking year, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

John Scott has been selected to be the state scientist leading pollution prevention in Illinois. The State Pollution Prevention Scientist is one of seven state scientists based at the Prairie Research Institute.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has signed a 10-year, $185.5 million agreement with the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to continue their joint environmental and infrastructure research program. 

Prairie Research Institute archaeologist Sarah Baires was one of 16 selected for the 2026-27 Emerging Research Leaders Academy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

July temperatures swung between familiar heat and cooler than normal, but cold fronts brought with them wildfire smoke and poor air quality, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

The Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the Center for Weather and Climate Disaster Research at National Taiwan University recently formalized a long-time research partnership, paving the way for practical solutions to environmental and advanced technology infrastructure challenges.

Sarah Wells was selected as the 2026 Office Professional of the Year by the Illinois Administrative Professionals organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

In two new publications, a team of researchers is calling upon their scientific colleagues and society as a whole to approach the use of genomic innovations with ethical deliberation, in consultation with Indigenous Peoples, and with the goal of holistically supporting ecosystems. Nathan Alexander, postdoctoral scholar with the Illinois Natural History Survey, contributed to one of the publications.

The University of Illinois is coordinating a statewide survey to learn food waste at home and to guide efforts that support cost savings, stronger communities, and a healthier environment.

By the end of June, Illinois had 173 tornadoes for 2026 so far, smashing records, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

When Bill and Cindy Ruesink established an endowment for the Illinois Natural History Survey's Insect Collection, it marked the culmination of nearly two decades of volunteer work. "The collection has a need, and we can help," Bill said.

Aquifer-based geothermal systems, known as aquifer thermal energy storage, could help ease the environmental stress stemming from artificial intelligence data centers in the United States. Researchers at the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are proposing a new way to keep those facilities cool by using the naturally stable underground temperatures and groundwater as a giant natural “thermal battery.”

People across Illinois can help researchers track mosquitoes as part of a new citizen science project at the Prairie Research Institute.

A new monitoring station installed recently in Coles County provides previously unavailable local, real-time weather, soil, and water data used by farmers, weather forecasters, industry, policymakers, and others.

The Potter Internship is a 10-week paid program designed for bachelor’s and master’s students. It provides students with hands-on research experience, focusing on topics related to the geology of Illinois.

Despite milder May temperatures, spring 2026 was still a top 10 warmest on record in Illinois, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

There’s a very good chance that you’ll encounter a bat at some point in your life. Here's what you need to know if you find a bat in your house or elsewhere.

Land-use changes and urban growth will destroy tens of thousands of cultural sites in Illinois — and millions around the globe — by the year 2100, Prairie Research Institute archaeologists project.

April was the second warmest and eighth wettest April on record statewide, and was notable for many severe weather events, including tornadoes.

The two-year project supports statewide mosquito, tick, and biting midge surveillance. The lab will also test these specimens for pathogens like West Nile virus in mosquitoes and Lyme disease in ticks.

March saw rollercoaster temperatures set numerous records and well above average precipitation that improved drought conditions in Illinois, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

Researchers at the Prairie Research Institute have developed a data-driven framework to better predict how environmental systems in the critical zone — from the bedrock layer beneath the Earth’s surface to the tree canopy — behave over time and under different influences.

Finding bats in the attic or under roof tiles is no homeowner’s idea of fun. But Florida’s endangered bonneted bats have few natural options left. With a dwindling number of large, old trees with cavities — their preferred habitat — and exotic species competing for what’s left, many bonneted bats have moved into homes, leading to panicked humans and calls to professionals who can oust the squatters.

February is normally one of the driest months of the year, but last month was extreme, worsening drought conditions in Illinois, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) and the EnergySense Resilience Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are providing free technical assistance to 10 small for and/or non-profit entities, such as restaurants, grocers, food banks, lodging or institutional food service operations, and other food-focused businesses and organizations in DuPage and Kane Counties in Illinois. 

Scientists have developed a new edge-of-field water-treatment system that reduces the load of excess nutrients washing into waterways from farm drainage systems. Their method combines a woodchip bioreactor with a two-step biochar water-treatment module. A one-year field trial demonstrated that the system reduced both nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from farmland.

Counting the marginal dorsal hairs on blacklegged tick larvae would probably be a tedious affair for most people. But it is a normal day for me in the Medical Entomology Laboratory of the Illinois Natural History Survey.

Since 2006, the Traveling Science Center, a 320-square-foot mobile museum, has visited over 150 different schools and attended over 200 community events in 30+ different counties.

Keeping amphibians as pets offers hobbyists an opportunity to connect with the non-human world, often increasing interest in conserving animals in the wild. But there’s a dark side to the amphibian trade, according to a recent study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Plenty of cold air was present when winter storms moved through Illinois in the latter half of January, producing some impressive snowfall totals, but also limiting the liquid water content of the snow in a state still in drought, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

Eleven artists explore the dynamic relationship between people and place in a new exhibition at Krannert Art Museum. “Another Place: Storymaking the Entangled Prairie” opens Jan. 29 with a reception from 5-7 p.m. and runs through July 2. The exhibition showcases new work by faculty members from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Art & Design.

Not as warm as 2024, but 2025 was well above the 20th century average temperature and saw nearly 700 records broken for daily high temperatures, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute. Last year also marked the fourth consecutive year of late summer and autumn drought in Illinois.

Farmers plant or preserve riparian buffers for various reasons, such as improving water quality, controlling erosion, or maintaining hunting habitat. Now, a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign underscores the benefits of riparian buffers to terrestrial biodiversity, finding that for every 10% increase in forest cover, an additional species is present.

Despite substantial snowfall in parts of the state, Illinois had a dry December, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

Developed by coastal geologist Liz Spitzer, based at the ISGS field office in Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, the ArcGIS StoryMap explains the natural and human-driven processes that shape the coast, how those changes affect coastal communities, and why long-term coastal mapping is critical for managing and protecting these dynamic environments.

Upcoming Learn to Hunt workshops offer Illinois residents a path to learn traditional hunting skills.

The two big rounds of snowfall last month made for a much snowier-than-average November for central and northern Illinois, with some areas getting 8 to 12 inches more than normal, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

University of Illinois scientists are developing a way for households to monitor the quality of their drinking water, as part of a $5 million National Science Foundation-funded project led by Washington University in St. Louis.

Below normal rainfall continued into October in central and northern Illinois, helping harvest progress quickly, as well as creating challenges with dry vegetation and high fire risk, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

After more than a year of planning, our team is finally ready to launch a new phase of research. We’ve designed and built two small “islands” of wetland plants that will float on Lake Decatur. These living laboratories will help us investigate how floating wetlands may affect nutrient levels and sediment dynamics in lake systems nationwide.

Researchers at the Illinois State Geological Survey are studying how to use carbon dioxide (CO₂) to recover more oil and store carbon underground in southern Illinois.

As autumn arrives, millions of birds migrate southward across the United States to warmer latitudes. Each week this season a volunteer group of U. of I. students and researchers assist Tara Beveroth, avian ecologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, in the capture and banding of migratory birds.

The preliminary statewide average September temperature was 68.8 degrees, 2.0 degrees above the 1991–2020 average and tied for the 27th warmest on record going back to 1895. The preliminary statewide total September precipitation was 2.60 inches, 0.75 inches below the 1991–2020 average and the 41^st driest on record. 

New research from The Granger College of Engineering and PRI has found that extreme weather conditions, like droughts, can impact “enhanced weathering,” the redistribution of atmospheric carbon to the ocean through agricultural soil.

Illinois once harbored more than 8 million acres of wetlands. By the 1980s, all but 1.2 million wetland acres had been lost, filled in for development or drained to make way for agriculture. Now, thanks to a 2023 Supreme Court decision, roughly 72% of the remaining 981,000 acres of Illinois wetlands are no longer protected by the federal Clean Water Act, putting communities at risk of losing the flood control, groundwater recharge, water purification and natural habitat these wetlands provide, researchers report.