PRI’s Traveling Science Center (TSC) is a 320-square-foot mobile classroom featuring exhibits on biodiversity, natural and cultural resources, and environmental stewardship. Established in 2006, the TSC travels to schools and communities across Illinois, providing a hands-on educational experience for visitors through interchangeable informational panels, interactive displays, props, and handouts. To date, it has provided programs
PRI is collaborating with City Water, Light and Power in Springfield (Sangamon County), Prairie State Generating Company in Marissa (St. Clair County), and the University of Illinois’ Abbott Power Plant (Champaign County) to implement advanced technologies that remove carbon from emissions (carbon capture). DOE recently awarded $47 million to PRI and partners to build and operate the world’s
Researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey developed the American Crayfish Atlas, the first website to provide nationwide coverage of crayfish distributions, showing where crayfish species have been found and the extent of their ranges. The atlas contains more than 43,000 records, gleaned from the INHS Crustacean Collection and over 50 other sources, including museums, research literature,
Biologists from the Illinois Natural History Survey help mitigate the impacts of wind energy on the state’s wildlife. Using acoustic monitoring, they can determine where bats are most active across the state. This information is shared with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to inform siting of new wind
PRI scientists evaluate wetland hydrology and related functions for compensatory mitigation and assess the effectiveness of roadway runoff treatments. This work benefits both the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Tollway. In 30+ years of work for IDOT, the INHS Wetlands group has conducted approximately 2,600 wetland determinations, 100 wetland monitoring projects, and 100 wetland mitigation
PRI conducts long-term monitoring of Illinois’ water, soil, and climate. These data, including growing and pest degree days, soil temperature and moisture, water table levels, and in-stream sediment, are used every day by thousands of Illinoisans and by the state’s agriculture, renewable energy, and construction industries. The USDA, USGS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and
With funding from the Illinois EPA, two U. of I. partners, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and Smart Energy Design Assistance Center, help municipalities reduce the cost of wastewater treatment by providing no-cost energy use assessments to publicly-owned wastewater treatment plants (POTW). Participating POTWs have reduced energy use by nearly 4 million kWh, greenhouse gas
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Through its statewide surveillance program, PRI’s Medical Entomology Lab has already dramatically improved understanding of the geographic distribution of known ticks and tick-borne diseases in Illinois. For example, PRI researchers recently confirmed that the potentially fatal Heartland virus was present in Lone Star ticks in Kankakee and Williamson counties—a pathogen not documented in Illinois before.
The INHS Biological Surveys and Assessment group has completed nearly 3,000 projects over the past 40 years to confirm the presence or absence of threatened and endangered species that could be affected by IDOT projects across the state. These efforts have contributed to more than 1,000 records of state or federally protected species.
PRI’s Technical Assistance Program provides assessment and consulting services that help companies and communities become more competitive and resilient with sustainable practices, technologies, and solutions. Recent Chicagoland partners have included Argonne National Lab, Northwestern University, and Brookfield Zoo. For more than a decade, TAP has helped rural manufacturing companies improve efficiencies in electricity, natural gas,