The Prairie Research Institute is a multidisciplinary research institute charged with providing objective research, expertise, and data on the natural and cultural resources of Illinois. It was established as a unit of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by a Public Act of the Illinois State Legislature in 2008. The institute comprises four state scientific surveys: the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS), the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), and the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), and the institute also houses the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC). The institute has a combined total staff of more than 700 employees, with facilities located on the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois, and field offices and research stations throughout the state.
In FY 2018, the state appropriated US$14.8 million through the university to fund the institute.
Legislative mandate
In 2008, with the passage of Public Act 95-728, also known as the Illinois Scientific Surveys Act (110 ILCS 425)), the Illinois State Legislature established the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Scientific Surveys Act also transferred all the rights, duties, powers, property, and functions of the Scientific Surveys and the Sustainable Technology Center from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to the Prairie Research Institute. Under the Scientific Surveys Act, the Scientific Surveys are authorized to investigate, study, conserve and develop Illinois' natural and cultural resources; collaborate with and advise Illinois, other states, and the federal government about Illinois' natural resources; disseminate and educate the public about their research and investigations; and maintain relationships between and among the Scientific Surveys and Illinois' public and private colleges and universities. The institute itself is governed by the University of Illinois board of trustees, with its executive director reporting directly to the university's vice chancellor for research.
Research
Researchers at the institute are engaged in basic and applied research across a spectrum of disciplines including agriculture and forestry, biodiversity and ecosystem health, atmospheric resources, climate and associated natural hazards, cultural resources and history of human settlements, disease and public health, emerging pests, fisheries and wildlife, energy and industrial technology, mineral resources, pollution prevention and mitigation, and water resources. Examples include impact and control of invasive Asian carp, Lyme disease vector ecology, Illinois water supply quality and quantity investigations, geologic carbon sequestration, development of geospatial tools, discovery and excavation of massive prehistoric settlements surrounding Cahokia in advance of new bridge construction, persistence of estrogens in dairy farm wastewater, electronics re-use to minimize electronic waste, and monitoring atmospheric deposition of radioisotopes in North America following the Fukushima reactor incident.
Collections and data
The institute is an important repository for many of Illinois' cultural and natural resource collections—whether archaeological, biological, and mineral. The INHS's biological collections include insects, crustaceans, molluscs, annelids, reptiles and amphibians, birds, mammals, algae, bryophytes, fishes, fungi, and vascular plants. Most collections are also global in geographic coverage for many groups. For example, the INHS insect collection has more than 6,500,000 curated specimens, and is one of the largest and oldest in North America; digitization of the specimens and metadata from this collection continues with support from the National Science Foundation.
The Illinois State Geological Survey conducts basic and applied geological research, creates new geologic maps, and gathers and manages the state's geological data. ISGS houses the legislatively mandated Illinois Geological Samples Library, a repository for drill-hole samples in Illinois, including cores drilled for mineral exploration and geologic investigations, as well as paleontological collections.
The Illinois State Water Survey studies water resources. Founded in 1895, the ISWS was originally tasked with surveying Illinois waters to trace the spread of waterborne disease and help develop sanitary standards for drinking water, over the years the ISWS has expanded to include scientific research and service programs related to water and atmospheric resources in Illinois.