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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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  • 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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  • Josh Nickelson, field scientist

    Since second grade Josh Nickelson knew he wanted to work in a park or a forest setting when he grew up. Last month, he joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a field scientist and is looking forward to assisting land owners and organizations with various forest management projects. 

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  • Caleb Bohus, 2022 Potter intern

    Caleb Bohus is a member of the first cohort of five Potter interns at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI). The Paul Edwin Potter Internships. Bohus, a junior at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale, has been working with Joe Devera, a senior paleontologist at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) and the Smithsonian on a paleontologcial project.

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  • Robert Rohe, historic resource analyst

    Robert Rohe returns to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) behind the lens and a with a different view. Rohe spent nearly a decade working on the East St. Louis Mound project, and will be working in production and graphic design in the American Bottom Field Station documenting excavations at some of their sites for outreach and training purposes.

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  • David Weyers, large river ecologist

    David Weyers joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a large river ecologist on June 1st. Prior to joining INHS, He earned his B.S. environmental biology from Greenville College and his Master's degree in biology from Saint Louis University where he focused on invasion and community ecology, studying the effects of the invasive plant, Erodium cicutarium on a native plant community near Portal, AZ.

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  • Sarah Molinaro, stream ecologist

    Sarah Molinaro is a stream ecologist at the Stream Ecology Lab with the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS). She's a former graduate student researcher with the Sport Fish Ecology Lab (SFEL) in 2019, focusing on tournament bowfishing harvest and the population dynamics of Shortnose Gar.

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  • Cora Wessman, Illinois Water Inventory Program coordinator

    Rockford native, Cora Wessman began working as a graduate student hourly researcher with the Illinois Water Inventory Program (IWIP) nearly three years ago. Today, she oversees the program as the IWIP coordinator. "IWIP has become something I am very passionate about, and I hope to see the program grow for years to come," said Wessman.

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