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People of PRI

Get to know the archaeologists, biologists, chemists, ecologists, geologists, and other scientists and staff of the Prairie Research Institute!

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  • Illinois River Biological Station marks 50th anniversary

    On July 23, the Illinois Natural History Survey's Illinois River Biological Station (IRBS) celebrated its 50th anniversary with a reunion at Riverfront Park in Havana, Illinois. IRBS has grown to a staff of more than 50 people, including PhD. scientists, post-doctoral research associates, large river ecologists, aquatic field technicians, and many graduate students. More than 300 scientists have been part of IRBS since its founding in 1972. 

     

     

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  • Anne Krippenstapel, field scientist

    Anne Krippenstapel recently joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a field scientist. She earned her bachelor's degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and worked as a forestry tech, running a chainsaw, treating invasive plants, and doing timber stand improvement.

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  • Katie O'Reilly, aquatic invasive species specialist

    Katie's doctoral research focused on understanding changes to Lake Michigan coastal wetland food webs using stable isotope analysis and otolith microchemistry. Her post-doc research expanded into the ecological impacts of an invasive aquatic plant (Elodea canadensis) in Alaskan freshwater ponds. Beyond her formal training as an aquatic ecologist, Katie is also passionate about understanding how scientists can more effectively communicate with different audiences.

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  • Lee Green, chemist

    Lee Green is a chemist in the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center’s Applied Research on Industrial and Environmental Systems (ARIES) group. She studies persistent contaminants, specializing in microplastics and PFAS. Scientists are just beginning to discover the impacts that these contaminants have on the human body and the environment.

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  • Miriam Schlessinger, 2022 PRI SROP intern

    Miriam Schlessinger, an undergraduate at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville recently participated in the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP), a 10-week hands-on summer internship at PRI that aims to enable undergraduate students from underrepresented populations to explore careers in applied science.

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  • Liane Rosario, 2022 Potter intern

    Liane Rosario, a senior at the University of Illinois Chicago studying earth and environmental sciences is a 2022 Potter intern working on coastal research at the ISGS Lake Michigan office, gathering data using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in caves and on beaches, and measuring the depths of Lake Michigan via boat using bathymetry data.

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  • Ahmani Browne, 2022 PRI SROP intern

    Ahmani Browne, a senior studying marine biology at Mitchell College, is working with Liang Chen, a research climatologist at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), studying the risks of winter severity in the Midwest due to climate change. Browne and Chen are using state-of-the-art climate models to quantify past and future winter storms, and investigate strong-wind and heavy snowfall events using climate simulations. Browne recently answered some questions about his internship experience.

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  • Dana Brown, vector biologist

    Dana Brown recently joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a vector biologist. Prior to joining INHS, Dana spent four years assisting with microbiological research in laboratories focused on virology, immunology, and cancer biology.

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  • Vanessa DeShambo, environmental engineer

    Vanessa joined the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) in December 2021 as an environmental engineer. Prior to joining the ISTC team, she worked at the U of I College of Veterinary Medicine performing case work and research related to veterinary infectious disease with a primary focus on micro and molecular biology. She also spent her early career with the Allen Institute for Brain Science managing research on mouse genetics and neuroscience. Her research is currently focused on improvement of algal systems for wastewater treatment. Projects topics include hydrothermal liquifaction, nanofiltration, algal toxin destruction, bioaugmentation, and endoreduplication.

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  • Kenton Geier, research archaeologist

    Kenton Geier, a research archaeologist, is a familiar face with the ISAS crew. He's worked at the survey for nearly a decade and is heavily involved in outreach and educational opportunities raising public awareness of past and current destruction of archaeological sites.  Geier's work centers around time – finding opportunities every day to preserve items from the past for future generations!

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