Walton R. Kelly is the recipient of the Prairie Research Institute’s 2024 Research Scientist Career Achievement Award, which recognizes the achievements of a PRI scientist whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact over the course of their career.
Kelly is the recently retired head of the Illinois State Water Survey groundwater science section and a current affiliate scientist. In his 30-year career at ISWS, Kelly has provided vision, leadership, and mentorship; built relationships with communities, stakeholders, and sponsors, leading to conservation and funding support; and published on leading contaminant concerns, including chloride, lead, arsenic, bacteria, nitrate, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and microplastics.
Kelly has been a groundwater geochemist at ISWS since 1992, spending the last 10 years before his retirement as the section head for groundwater science. Over the course of his career, he has also held adjunct and visiting roles teaching in geology at Illinois State University and universities in South Africa, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in 2006. He holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Duke University, a master’s degree in geological sciences from Case Western Reserve University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.
Kelly has authored 43 peer-reviewed publications — is first author on 15 — and 49 publications and reports available through the University of Illinois’ IDEALS online system. Some of his important research and most-cited publications as lead author relate to road salt and chloride accumulation in shallow aquifers. His colleagues note, “This issue rose to prominence in the 30 years of Walt’s career at ISWS and his research has been a foundation for Illinois community awareness on the subject.”
“He is insightful in his research planning and geochemical and hydrogeologic interpretations and is a skillful writer. Together, we published over 20 journal articles and survey publications that are often cited in other journal articles,” wrote Sam Panno, retired Illinois State Geological Survey geologist. Panno reflected on knowing Kelly for the last four decades, working and collaborating with him for most of those many years. Their last paper published together — with more than 300 citations — was the first published research on microplastics in groundwater. He describes Kelly as a “well-known, trusted and compassionate scientist.”
Beyond his research, Kelly has played a vital role in growing ISWS’ impact through his leadership in data stewardship and building relationships with stakeholders and sponsors for funding. ISWS software engineer Greg Rogers explained that Kelly took a more holistic approach to data that made data gathered in individual research projects more useful and available, including leading to the development of “critical decision support and modeling tools used by communities and state agencies.” He added that Kelly improved data collection quality control, “was instrumental in efforts to digitize historical water data,” and joined programs that help create data exchange standards.
“Capabilities such as this build a foundation for opportunities in larger scale regional and national research partnerships reaching beyond the borders of the state of Illinois,” Rogers said. “Taken together, these efforts’ collective objective is to expand the scope of possibilities and capabilities in the future for what is already a highly skilled, ambitious and dedicated team assembled during Walt’s time leading the ISWS groundwater section.”
Understanding the importance of communication with stakeholders, Kelly led key community outreach efforts, such as those needed to fund research on a growing water supply crisis in the Joliet region. The outreach and research helped the group of communities ultimately join together to seek a new water source and solve the crisis. Peter Wallers of the Northwest Water Planning Alliance — a regional group representing 80 communities and more than 1.3 million people in Kane, Kendall, McHenry, Lake and DeKalb counties — was involved at the time as a consultant helping Joliet form a regional water commission. He recalled that the ISWS modeling and clear communication of complex issues was essential and Kelly’s “leadership in guiding ISWS to provide concise and understandable information is a big reason for the success of the region.”
“Walt is one of those rare leaders who inspires his colleagues to be better and achieve more than they can dream,” Wallers wrote. “His breakthroughs and leadership in communication have led to a better understanding of groundwater science for elected officials and the public. I can think of no one more deserving of this award.”
Hydrogeologist Cecilia Cullen — who gathered many colleagues’ reflections to draft Kelly’s award nomination — was among the employees Kelly mentored to communicate the region’s water supply issues with the communities at risk. She remarked on his generosity to Illinois well owners, taking time to address any concerns they have about the water quality of their private well and acting as “an ambassador for the aquifer.”
Many scientists were mentored by Kelly over the years. Those he mentored describe him as welcoming, supportive, guiding, encouraging, practical, patient and generous with his time. Daniel Abrams, an ISWS research scientist and groundwater flow modeler, fondly recalls that on the second day of his job at the ISWS — when he was a fresh graduate “with a head full of theory” — Kelly “challenged and mentored me to morph highly complicated concepts into a streamlined narrative for the public. He taught me that concise and true presentations build trust with audiences.”
Among his other accomplishments and contributions to ISWS and PRI, Kelly has advised on committees for graduate student education; served on hiring committees; acted as a reviewer for journals; held leadership roles at the Illinois Groundwater Association; been involved on the State Water Plan Task Force, Mahomet Aquifer Response Team and Natural Gas Working Group; and served as a technical advisor for several agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey. He has received numerous awards and honors throughout his long career, including recognition from the National Groundwater Association for his and the section’s work in Chicago’s southwest suburbs.
