blog posts

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  John Beardsley, research field specialist

  May 27, 2021 8:15 am
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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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  Laura Keefer, Illinois State Hydrologist

  Oct 15, 2019 8:00 am
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  Sadia Sabrina, ISWS graduate student researcher

  Oct 27, 2020 8:00 am
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  Travis Ashby, climatology programmer

  Aug 10, 2020 8:00 am
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  Nahal Hoghooghi, postdoctoral researcher

  Oct 1, 2021 2:15 pm

  Postdoctoral researcher Nahal Hoghooghi is one of the newest members of the Illinois State Water Survey team! She will conduct watershed hydrological modeling and water supply planning studies across Illinois.

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  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).  

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  Health and Environmental Applications Laboratory

  Jan 11, 2021 3:15 pm
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  Gustava Curtin, graduate research assistant

  Feb 24, 2025 7:00 am

  Gustava Curtin is a graduate student in the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences. at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a research assistant at the Illinois State Water Survey.

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  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).

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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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  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.

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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. 

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  Jake Vile, undergraduate researcher

  Jul 26, 2024 2:00 pm

  Jake Vile, a recent graduate from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences recently joined the Illinois State Water Survey, a division of the Prairie Research Institute. Jake's passion for weather began at a young age, and he plans to further his studies with a M.S. in Atmospheric Sciences at the University at Albany this fall. At PRI, he contributes to the MITTEN-CI project, focusing on collecting and analyzing meteorological data. Jake's dedication and enthusiasm, combined with his extensive global experience, make him a valuable asset to our team. We sat down with Jake to learn more about his experience and plans for the future.

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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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  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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  Margaret Golden, hourly research assistant

  Aug 10, 2021 8:00 am
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  Dawn Cosentino, project engineer

  Apr 21, 2021 8:00 am
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  Mike Atkinson, Bondville site researcher

  Feb 8, 2021 10:00 am
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  Cora Wessman, Illinois Water Inventory Program coordinator

  Jun 27, 2022 8:00 am

  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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  Christine Atkinson, Bondville site researcher

  Feb 8, 2021 1:15 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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  Katelyn McLaughlin, environmental science writer

  Jan 20, 2023 12:30 pm

  I grew up in the Northwest Chicago Suburbs and moved to Champaign in June of 2021 for work. I graduated from Illinois State University in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in English and a focus on publishing and I’ve worked a few jobs unrelated to my major since then. My role at PRI is as an environmental science writer for WaterOperator.org through the Water Survey and this is the first writing-based job I have had since graduating college so I am very excited about that!

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  Trent Ford, Illinois State Climatologist

  Sep 12, 2019 11:45 am
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  Atticus Zavelle, 2024 Distinguished Research Specialist/Technician Award recipient

  Jun 5, 2024 1:30 pm

  Atticus Zavelle, senior scientific specialist at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) has been selected as the recipient of PRI’s 2024 Distinguished Research Specialist/Technician Award.

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  Glenn Heistand, section head of Coordinated Hazard Assessment and Mapping Program (CHAMP)

  Oct 6, 2022 8:00 am

  Glenn Heistand is the section head of the Coordinated Hazard Assessment and Mapping Program (CHAMP) at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) where a staff of 27 employees made up of engineers, GIS specialists, and outreach specialists, produce hydrologic and hydraulic models, flood insurance studies, digital flood insurance rate maps, mitigation plans, and related items in partnership with FEMA and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). 

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  Christine Atkinson, ISWS graduate student

  Oct 24, 2019 9:00 am
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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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  Laura Keefer: Surface Water Hydrology and Hydraulics

  Mar 20, 2017 1:15 pm
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  Jennie Atkins: Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program

  Mar 20, 2017 1:15 pm
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  Zoe Zaloudek: GIS Specialist

  Mar 28, 2017 1:45 pm
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  Ron Sjoken, environmental monitoring specialist

  Aug 11, 2021 8:00 am
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  Laura De La Guardia, ISWS graduate student

  Oct 23, 2019 9:00 am
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  Research Scientist’s Career Achievement: James R. Angel

  Apr 11, 2019 4:30 pm
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  Early Career Investigator: Daniel Abrams

  Apr 12, 2018 12:15 pm
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  Distinguished Research Specialist/Technician: Lee Green

  Apr 11, 2019 4:45 pm