Natalie Kerr leans against a low wall wearing biking gear

Natalie Kerr, visiting senior scientific specialist, environmental public health

May 11, 2022 9:15 am

Natalie Kerr started a full-time position at the Water Survey in January 2022. In her role as a environmental public health specialist, she is part of an expanded focus on the intersection between water resources and public health. She is working on two projects related to private wells—one looking at lead levels and the other investigating Legionella (the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease).

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.

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.

PRI mentors support undergraduate research

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!

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.

Nico Galardy, IT technical associate

Sep 29, 2021 11:30 am

Meet the Illinois State Geological Survey's new IT technical associate, Nico Galardy! Nico brings eight years of desktop computer support experience, with five of those being in the educational field.

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.

Robbie Emmet, postdoctoral research associate

Sep 13, 2021 8:00 am

Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) postdoctoral research associate Robbie Emmet is looking forward to working with INHS researchers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) staff to answer management-relevant research questions and combine the multiple amazing data sets that IDNR has collected for decades.

Jessica Homan, social media intern

Sep 8, 2021 8:00 am

Social media intern Jessica Homan’s passion for her work revolves around communications. She was drawn to intern at the Prairie Research Institute after learning about the impact its services and research has on citizens and scientists in Illinois and beyond—plenty of good stories to tell!

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.