About Jen Christiansen

Jen Christiansen is senior graphics editor at Scientific American, where she art-directs and produces illustrated explanatory diagrams and data visualizations. She began her publishing career in 1996 at Scientific American, in New York, moved to Washington to join the staff of National Geographic (first as an assistant art director/researcher and then as a designer), spent four years as a freelance science communicator, and returned to Scientific American in 2007. Jen writes and presents on topics ranging from visualizing uncertainty to her quest to learn more about the pulsar chart on Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album cover. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a B.A. in geology and studio art from Smith College.