Speakers Bureau
Do you have a question about water resource issues? Would you like to find a speaker for your classroom or community group? Are you a stakeholder in a watershed area and need further information? The Illinois State Water Survey employs individuals with many talents and educated in far-reaching specialties. These staff members are eager to share their interests and knowledge with the public. The listing below offers speakers, defines their topic(s), and provides a short content summary. Please contact your choice of speakers (click on the individual's name to find phone and email information).
If you are trying to locate a speaker on a water issue other that those listed here, please contact Mary Hagen LeFaivre.
| Staff | Topic | Brief Summary of Topic | ||||||
| Jim Angel | Climate of Illinois, climate change, drought, flooding, etc. | Dr. Jim Angel, State Climatologist, has wide-ranging expertise on the climate of Illinois, including past and potential future climate change, drought, El Niño/La Niña, heavy rainstorms, 19th century climate records, weather instruments, and weather observations. He also monitors current climate conditions in Illinois and is familiar with a variety of forecast and outlook products. He has considerable experience in talking to a variety of groups on these and related issues. Tours of the weather instrument site at the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign can be arranged upon request. | ||||||
| Ken Hlinka | Illinois Groundwater | Groundwater availability and use in Illinois from specific locations to statewide applications. | ||||||
| Ken Hlinka | General Groundwater Principles | Discussion center around what makes up groundwater, where it is found and how it is obtained from below the surface. | ||||||
| Ken Hlinka | Groundwater and Wells of Illinois | Presentation of domestic water wells, their planning, development, and maintenance in Illinois. | ||||||
| Brian Kaiser | Domestic Water Quality, Testing, and Treatment | The process of submitting samples of domestic water to the ISWS's Public Service Lab for testing will be addressed. Water quality problems are discussed, along with a description of the various treatments used in the home to solve the problems. | ||||||
| Mary Hagen LeFaivre | Rain Check Network | The Rain Check Network is a program developed by ISWS to encourage students to become weather watchers and develop an interest in their environment. ISWS & the American Chemical Society provide free rain gages to teachers and students to promote this activity. | ||||||
| David Kristovich | Midwest weather systems, lake-effect snow storms, severe storms, urban weather, meteorological field projects, etc. | Dr. David Kristovich, Head of the Center for Atmospheric Sciences, has expertise in hazardous weather in the Midwest and their variations over long time periods. Most of his current research is on understanding how variations in the Earth's surface changes the intensity of hazardous weather systems. In particular, he has conducted observational studies on lake-effect snow storms and their long-term trends, the influences of the Chicago area on lake breezes, how severe thunderstorms change as they move across the Great Lakes, and long-term variations in intense precipitation events in the U.S. Dr. Kristovich also has considerable experience collecting weather data during field experiments, especially by flying instrumented aircraft through the weather systems. Videos from many these flights can be shown. | ||||||
| Chris Lehmann | Atmospheric Deposition: Acid Rain & Mercury in Rain | This presentation provides an overview of trends of precipitation chemistry in the US, including acid rain and mercury, and their impacts on the environment. The National Atmospheric Deposition Program is located at ISWS, and operates the largest national network of precipitation chemistry monitoring stations in the world. | ||||||
| Bob Scott | Water & Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) | The WARM Program was initiated to coordinate monitoring of numerous ISWS data collection efforts. WARM provides public access to databases which provide information about soil temperatures and soil moisture, growing and pest degree days, and the Illinois Climate Network. | ||||||
| Kent Smothers | Midwest Technology Assistance Center (MTAC) | This Center cooperates closely with other regional technology assistance centers established by the USEPA, and with other partner agencies and organizations in order to ensure efficient response to the highest priority needs of small public water systems and Indian Tribal systems in the Midwest. | ||||||
| Dan Webb | Fun with Science | Provide educational talks and demonstrations, focusing on "fun" hand-on science activities. The talks are customized depending on age group and desired topics (often water related). The intent is to spark an interest in science, and to show how science relates to everyday activities. | ||||||