About the Prairie Research Institute
The Prairie Research Institute, (originally The Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability), was created in July of 2008 to house four state scientific surveys — Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) — as a group under the auspices of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Then in 2010, the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program (ITARP) became the fifth division under the new name of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, further expanding the Institute's research and service capabilities. The Institute's mission and vision statement reflect the importance of sustaining our state's natural resources.
The Institute Libraries have merged and the merged library is the Prairie Research Institute Library. The library is open to the campus community and the public, and operates as a unit of the University Library. For information about the merger, see the minutes and final report of the Institute Library Advisory Task Force.
Download the Institute and Survey brochures
The mission of the Prairie Research Institute is to provide objective, integrated scientific research and service, in cooperation with other academic and research units of the University of Illinois and elsewhere, that allow citizens and decision-makers to make choices that ensure sustainable economic development, enduring environmental quality, and cultural resource preservation for the people, businesses, and governments of Illinois.
The Prairie Research Institute will serve as a model of proactive, multidisciplinary research and service as a key to economic development, environmental quality, and cultural resource preservation. The incorporation of the Institute into a major research university is a unique opportunity to integrate the University's intellectual capital with the Institute's ability to apply science to societal challenges as an example for the nation and the world.
Updated 02/18/15 AW