People of PRI

Manisha Pant, macroinvertebrates coordinator

Feb 3, 2023 9:15 am

Manisha Pant recently joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a macroinvertebrates coordinator with the Illinois River Biological Station (IRBS)’s long-term resource monitoring (LTRM) program. Manisha is looking forward to once again sampling and studying freshwater macroinvertebrates, and has always been interested in STEM fields since she was a kid. If you wonder if she's grossed out by looking at bugs all the time – her answer, emphatically, “No! Bugs are cool!”

Dana Brown, vector biologist

Jul 21, 2022 3:30 pm

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.

Sarah Douglass: Mussel Field Biologist

May 2, 2017 4:15 pm

Srirupa Ganguly: Process Development Engineer

Mar 27, 2017 2:15 pm

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.

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.

scientist smiling and holding up a freshwater mussel

Hugo Ruellan, aquatic ecologist

Mar 14, 2023 2:00 pm

Allan E. Jones, hydrologist

Apr 27, 2023 3:15 pm

Allan E. Jones, a recently promoted assistant research scientist in hydrology, has received the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) 2023 Early Career Investigator Award for his excellence in research and leadership and his impact on the development of the groundwater flow model at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS).

Tara Beveroth holding eastern screech owl

Tara Beveroth: Ornithologist

Jun 14, 2017 4:00 pm

Abby Pagels, acoustic coordinator for the Illinois Bat Conservation Program

Mar 14, 2023 2:00 pm

Patrick Green, Central Illinois Field Station (CIFS) coordinator

Mar 21, 2022 8:00 am

If there's construction planned in your area, one of the first people you may see on the scene is Patrick Green, the Central Illinois Field Station coordinator at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS). As an Illinois native, Patrick knows the Illinois landscape quite well and is a wealth of knowledge about the history and archaeological sites all around Illinois and the United States! He recently answered some questions about his work, career advice, and why you don't have to travel to Egypt or the Yucatan (unless you want to!) to learn about fascinating ancient history – it's all around you!

Jordan Hartman, postdoctoral researcher

Jan 29, 2024 10:45 am

Jordan Hartman joined INHS and the Collaborative Conservation Genomics Laboratory on January 1, 2024, as a Postdoctoral Researcher with Dr. Mark Davis. She recently completed her Ph. D. at the University of Illinois under Dr. Eric Larson where she studied the process of the invasion of Eastern Banded Killifish in Illinois using different and genomic techniques. Today, she can found in the genomics laboratory where she will be researching little brown bats across the United States.

Katey Strailey, postdoctoral researcher

Oct 10, 2022 11:00 am

I’m really excited to get to do applied research. For me, it’s the best of both worlds–I get to do work that is both scientifically engaging and valuable for conservation. Conservation and management of our aquatic resources are really important to me, and I want to make sure that whatever I do for work is supporting those resources.

Lee Green, chemist

Aug 3, 2022 8:00 am

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.

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!

David Zaya, plant ecologist

Jun 11, 2020 4:30 pm

Sara Sawicki, water quality specialist

Aug 25, 2022 8:00 am

Sara Sawicki joined INHS on August 16th as a water quality specialist with the Illinois River Biological Station (IRBS) long-term resource monitoring program. She earned her bachelor's degree in environmental science from Dominican University and her Master’s degree in environmental science from Alaska Pacific University, where she performed water sampling and analysis work for a USGS project involving a glacier and its watershed.

Natalia Maass, endangered species specialist

Sep 1, 2021 8:00 am

Meet Natalia Maass, an endangered species specialist with the Illinois Natural History Survey. While Maass continues to tackle challenging programming languages, she stresses that having an advanced degree isn't a qualifier for being a “real” scientist. People can do meaningful work in science as citizen scientists, too.

Sara Wilson, INHS graduate student

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

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.

Ahmani Browne, 2022 PRI SROP intern

Jul 26, 2022 8:00 am

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.

Alison Stodola: Aquatic Biologist

Mar 15, 2017 12:00 pm

Emmarie Alexander, undergraduate researcher

Apr 19, 2021 8:00 am

Sam Schaick, large river fisheries ecologist

May 31, 2019 9:15 am

Nicholas Iacaruso, graduate researcher

Jan 26, 2022 8:00 am

Nicholas Iacaruso is a graduate student at the Illinois Natural History Survey in the Collaborative Ecological Genetics Laboratory (CEGL) working under Mark Davis, focusing on monitoring freshwater fish populations using environmental DNA (eDNA). Iacaruso grew up near Chesapeake Bay, which inspired his interests in aquatic ecosystems before he learned about ecological genetics, and later, about environmental DNA, or eDNA.

Jim Lamer: large river ecologist

Mar 25, 2019 2:30 pm

Kylee Noel, INHS graduate student

Oct 24, 2019 9:00 am

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.

drilling team on site using a drilling rig.

Shop and drilling team

Jun 21, 2021 8:00 am

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.

Megan Weeks, human resources business analyst

May 1, 2021 8:00 am

IRBS staff, alumni, and family members gathered at Riverfront Park to mark the field station's 50th year

Illinois River Biological Station marks 50th anniversary

Aug 12, 2022 8:30 am

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.

Hugo Ruellan, INHS graduate student

Oct 22, 2019 9:00 am

Sarah Gaulke standing in front of water holding a bird.

Sarah Gaulke, INHS graduate student

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

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.

Angiel DiAscro in face mask performing titration

Angela DiAscro, field chemist

Jul 28, 2020 8:00 am

Susan McIntyre: Wetland Plant Ecologist

Mar 21, 2018 12:00 pm

Chris Miller, Conservation Resource Specialist

Apr 8, 2021 8:00 am

Zach Samaras, technical assistance engineer, sustainability

Aug 17, 2021 11:30 am

Zach Samaras left a career in the print and promotional industry and now promotes waste reduction and resource conservation as a technical assistance and sustainability engineer with the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.

Lauren Fitts sitting down and holding an artifact

Lauren Fitts, research archaeologist

Feb 28, 2022 8:00 am

Meet Lauren Fitts, Research Archaeologist with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS). Initially drawn to archaeology because of Jurassic Park, she now leads archaeological surveys in advance of Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) related projects.

Woman with a hat on holding a large black and yellow turtle.

Claire Dietrich, field ecologist

Feb 29, 2024 2:00 pm

Claire Dietrich recently joined the PACE Lab as a field ecologist.

Michael Spear, postdoctoral researcher

Apr 7, 2021 8:00 am

Health and Environmental Applications Laboratory

Jan 11, 2021 3:15 pm

Katie O'Reilly, aquatic invasive species specialist

Aug 4, 2022 8:00 am

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.

Jim Pisell, staff archaeologist

Oct 4, 2021 12:15 pm

Jim Pisell has been with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey for nearly 20 years, and while technology has changed the face and pace of what archaeology looks like today, at its core Jim believes it's deeper than artifacts—it is a type of informed storytelling.

Liane Rosario, 2022 Potter intern

Aug 1, 2022 8:00 am

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.

Mario Navarro, Lily Hearn, and Tahj Crofton sitting

Lily Hearn, Tahj Cortes Crofton, and Mario Owens Navarro, 2022 Potter interns

Sep 12, 2022 8:00 am

Lily Hearn, Tahj Cortes Crofton, and Mario Owens Navarro have been working with PRI scientists on research tackling some of the most pressing environmental issues. This group of undergraduate students was part of the first cohort of the Illinois State Geological Survey's Paul Edwin Potter Internship Program.

Greg Cane: stable isotope lab manager

Sep 25, 2018 11:45 am

Emily Struckhoff, INHS graduate student researcher

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

Megan Cowan-Cranmer, field biologist

Sep 15, 2021 8:00 am

Megan Cowan-Cranmer has been a field biologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey's Great Rivers Field Station for over 14 years, and is also this year's 2021 Confluence Conservation Leader awardee. Confluence Conservation Leader recipients work tirelessly to advocate, educate and inspire action in areas of environmental education, sustainability, and land conservation.

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