blog posts

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  Zohreh Askari: Geologic Specialist

  Apr 4, 2017 12:30 pm
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  Zoe Zaloudek: GIS Specialist

  Mar 28, 2017 1:45 pm
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  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.

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  Zachary Witzel, large river fisheries ecologist

  Oct 9, 2020 8:00 am
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  Yang Fang: Reservoir Engineer

  Apr 3, 2017 1:15 pm
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  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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  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.  

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  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.

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  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.

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  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! 

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  Tyler Pierson, hydrologist

  Dec 19, 2018 1:45 pm
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  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.

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  Trent Ford, Illinois State Climatologist

  Sep 12, 2019 11:45 am
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  Travis Ashby, climatology programmer

  Aug 10, 2020 8:00 am
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  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.

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  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.

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  Tim Pauketat: Illinois State Archaeologist

  Mar 25, 2019 3:15 pm
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  Tara Jagadeesh, Coastal Studies Specialist

  May 17, 2021 8:00 am
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  Tara Hohoff: Wildlife Biologist

  Apr 20, 2017 11:00 am
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  Tara Beveroth: Ornithologist

  Jun 14, 2017 4:00 pm
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  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.

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  Tamira Brennan, curator

  Apr 24, 2020 1:15 pm
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  Susan Post: Entomologist

  Mar 17, 2017 12:45 pm
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  Susan McIntyre: Wetland Plant Ecologist

  Mar 21, 2018 12:00 pm
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  Sunita Mahat, visiting scientific specialist

  Aug 16, 2024 11:30 am

  Introducing Sunita Mahat, a visiting scientific specialist in GIS at the Illinois State Geological Survey. Sunita shares insights into her role in the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Inventory and Characterization Project, her passion for using technology to address environmental challenges, and her advice for aspiring GIS analysts.

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  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.

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  Stephany Virrueta Herrara, INHS graduate student

  Oct 21, 2019 9:00 am
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  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.

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  Stephanie Schmidt, INHS graduate student

  Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am
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  Stephanie Brownstein, research engineer

  Jul 6, 2021 8:00 am
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  Stefan Ilic, visiting scientific specialist

  Sep 3, 2024 7:00 am

  We sat down with Stefan Ilic, a new visiting scientific specialist on the GIS team at the Illinois State Geological Survey. In this interview, Stefan shares insights into his journey to becoming a GIS specialist, his passion for geography and cartography, and the tools he relies on for his work.

   

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  Srirupa Ganguly: Process Development Engineer

  Mar 27, 2017 2:15 pm
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  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!

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  Sohan Singh, postdoctoral researcher

  Jul 26, 2021 12:00 pm
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  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.

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  Shop and drilling team

  Jun 21, 2021 8:00 am
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  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.

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  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.

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  Shah Bilawal Ali, research assistant

  Sep 17, 2024 8:30 am

  Shah Bilawal Ali is an MS student in the Department of Earth Science & Environmental Change at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a Research Assistant at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS). He is now working on the Mitchell CarbonSAFE project, developing geologic models that could contribute to energy sustainability. Explore Ali’s story below to learn about his passion for sedimentology, his tools of the trade, and his ambitions for the future.

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  Seth Allgeier, curation specialist

  Sep 10, 2024 2:15 pm

  Seth Allgeier recently joined the Illinois State Archaeological Survey as a curation specialist. At PRI, Seth is leveraging his fieldwork experience to assess, organize, and digitize Illinois Department of Transportation site documents

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  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. 

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  Savanna Palmer, summer research intern

  Jul 31, 2024 9:30 am

  Savanna Palmer, a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign majoring in Integrative Biology Honors, recently completed an internship under Mark Davis in the Collaborative Conservation Genetic Lab (CCGL) at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS).

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  Savannah Feher, sustainability technician

  Sep 5, 2019 12:15 pm
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  Sarmila Katuwal, Visiting Scientific Specialist-Research Engineer

  Aug 4, 2020 8:00 am
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  Sara Wilson, INHS graduate student

  Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am
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  Sara Villazan Perez-Girones, visiting scientific specialist

  Feb 13, 2024 8:45 am
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  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. 

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  Sara Johnson, INHS graduate student

  Oct 24, 2019 9:00 am
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  Sarah Molinaro, stream ecologist

  Jul 1, 2022 8:00 am

  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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  Sarah Manderbach, water safety researcher

  Oct 29, 2024 8:00 am

  Sarah Manderbach is a water safety researcher at the Illinois State Water Survey, where she conducts vital research on private wells. At PRI, Sarah is researching testing for Legionella in private wells in Illinois.