People of PRI

Sarmila Katuwal wears a cloth face covering while working in the ISTC lab

Sarmila Katuwal, Visiting Scientific Specialist-Research Engineer

Aug 4, 2020 8:00 am

Savannah Feher, sustainability technician

Sep 5, 2019 12:15 pm

Sebastiano Giardinella, project engineer

Mar 2, 2022 8:00 am

Meet Sebastiano Giardinella, a project engineer with the Illinois Sustainable Technology Survey (ISTC). Sebastiano joined ISTC in 2021 and is responsible for coordinating and assisting researchers with ongoing projects and proposals, primarily related to Department of Energy (DOE)-funded research.

Shaley Valentine, assistant research scientist

Feb 22, 2024 9:00 am

Shaley Valentine recently joined Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as an Assistant Research Scientist at the Illinois River Biological Station! Prior to joining INHS, Shaley completed a PhD at Southern Illinois University. We sat down with Shaley to learn more about them, what they’re passionate about, and hear any advice they have for future scientists.

Shari Effert-Fanta, assistant director for facilities and safety

Apr 15, 2022 8:00 am

Shari Effert-Fanta, PRI’s assistant director for facilities & safety, is the recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Support Staff Award! Effert-Fanta oversees PRI’s many facilities, both on campus and across the state, as well as the safety of PRI staff and students as they work in the field and in the lab; her work impacts everyone at PRI.

drilling team on site using a drilling rig.

Shop and drilling team

Jun 21, 2021 8:00 am

Shruti Deekshitula, graduate student researcher

Jun 15, 2022 8:00 am

Shruti Deekshitula is a graduate student researcher at the Illinois State Water Survey and an information science student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Sohan Singh, postdoctoral researcher

Jul 26, 2021 12:00 pm

Sophia Sagrestano, ISWS graduate student researcher

Oct 25, 2022 2:00 pm

Sophia Sagrestano's path toward a master's degree in atmospheric science started with watching the local meteorologist each morning before school in her childhood home. Now she's working with Water Survey researchers to better understand the planetary boundary layer and how it impacts lake effect snow formation over Lake Ontario!

Srirupa Ganguly: Process Development Engineer

Mar 27, 2017 2:15 pm

Stephanie Brownstein, research engineer

Jul 6, 2021 8:00 am

Stephanie Schmidt, INHS graduate student

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

highway bridge over water and through a forested area.

Stephanie Wagner, environmental site assessor

Apr 13, 2022 8:00 am

The 2022 Distinguished Research Specialist or Technician Award goes to Stephanie Wagner! Stephanie has worked as an environmental site assessor with the environmental assessment team at the Illinois State Geological Survey. Wagner and her environmental assessment colleagues help determine project costs, prioritize projects, and ensure the safety of workers, the public, and the environment.

Stephany Virrueta Herrara, INHS graduate student

Oct 21, 2019 9:00 am

Steve Wilson, groundwater hydrologist

Apr 14, 2022 8:00 am

The 2022 Research Scientist’s Career Achievement Award goes to Steve Wilson. Steve began his career at the Water Survey more than 30 years ago, as an undergraduate student hourly. Now as a groundwater hydrologist, Steve leads two programs that have significant nationwide impact on the safety of drinking water: The Private Well Class, which provides self-paced online training for private well owners and professionals who support them, and WaterOperator.org, a user-friendly online resource hub for water and wastewater operators that is geared towards supporting small systems.

Susan McIntyre: Wetland Plant Ecologist

Mar 21, 2018 12:00 pm

Susan Post: Entomologist

Mar 17, 2017 12:45 pm

Tamira Brennan holds a trowell in the field

Tamira Brennan, curator

Apr 24, 2020 1:15 pm

Tanner Jones, irrigation and hydrology specialist

Apr 24, 2023 4:00 pm

Tanner works with the Illinois Water Inventory Program (IWIP), specifically on the irrigation side to find new ways to collect water usage figures that can help us understand the water status and water needs around the state and work on the data side to pair irrigator information with the information existing in the Water Survey. He also helps to communicate water usage analysis to the general public.

Tara Beveroth holding eastern screech owl

Tara Beveroth: Ornithologist

Jun 14, 2017 4:00 pm

Tara Hohoff: Wildlife Biologist

Apr 20, 2017 11:00 am

Tara Jagadeesh, Coastal Studies Specialist

May 17, 2021 8:00 am

Tim Pauketat: Illinois State Archaeologist

Mar 25, 2019 3:15 pm

Toby Holda, large river fisheries ecologist

May 2, 2022 8:00 am

Toby Holda joined INHS on April 25th as a large river fisheries ecologist. Holda worked at INHS during his undergraduate career and looks forward to sampling fish in the field, especially the long toothy fishes (gars, bowfin, etc.). He's also looking forward to continuing working with the folks at the Illinois River Biological Station and to the opportunity to continue developing his research skills.

Tony Schutz, primary desktop support

Feb 16, 2023 8:00 am

The Computing and Data Services (CDS) team welcomes new staff member, Tony Schutz, as the primary desktop support. Tony has been working with PRI part-time for the past eight years and has now joined us as a full-time employee. He will be the primary desktop support person for staff at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), but will be pitching in on desktop support across PRI and helping the CDS server team as well. Tony is a familiar face for sure, and we’re very glad to have him as a full-time member of the team.

Travis Ashby, climatology programmer

Aug 10, 2020 8:00 am

Trent Ford, Illinois State Climatologist

Apr 12, 2022 8:00 am

Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford is a recipient of the Prairie Research Institute’s 2022 Early Career Investigator Award. Ford joined the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) in 2019 as the State Climatologist following recently retired Jim Angel. In that short period of time, he has developed an active research program funded through external programs, while taking on the daunting task of re-visualizing and expanding the State Climatologist program.

Trent Ford, Illinois State Climatologist

Sep 12, 2019 11:45 am

Tyler Pierson, hydrologist

Dec 19, 2018 1:45 pm

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Apr 22, 2022 11:15 am

Congratulations to all of the undergraduate students presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 28 and the PRI scientists who mentored them!

Vanessa DeShambo, environmental engineer

Jul 19, 2022 8:00 am

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.

Walt Kelly poses for a photo at the awards ceremony.

Walton R. Kelly, 2024 Research Scientist Career Achievement Award recipient

Jun 5, 2024 2:00 pm

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.

Wei Dang, water resource engineer

Nov 22, 2023 10:30 am

Wei Dang earned her Master of Geographic Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2022. Following graduation, she joined PRI as a Water Resource Engineer. Her primary responsibilities revolve around using GIS methodologies to present water resource data and information on surface water in a visually intuitive and accessible manner. She also works on the geospatial analyses of water resources systems, aiming to streamline water resources planning and management.

Friends of PRI honorees Dave Thomas and Bill Shilts stand with their plaque

William W. Shilts and David L. Thomas, 2022 Friends of PRI Award

May 4, 2022 2:00 pm

Each year PRI honors individuals and organizations whose support contributes to the institute's success. This year we're commemorating the contributions of William W. Shilts and David L. Thomas, who played pivotal roles in the formation of the institute.

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