Christiansen welcomes the appointment as recognition for her scientific work. As she said, "I am pleased that my research draws attention abroad. I am committed to ensuring that we will build a good working relationship with Chonbuk National University, in particular to gain advantages for junior researchers, for example, within the framework of exchange programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows."

During the presentation ceremony the president of Chonbuk National University, Suh Geo-Suk, emphasized that Europe, and especially Germany, is very strong in research leading to the development of new technologies and energies that are beneficial for the environment, and that Germany is in fact a role model for other countries in these fields. He went on to say that as a material scientist, during the past decade Christiansen published numerous internationally significant publications that were a substantial impetus for advances in energy research.

Christiansen has been a professor at the Institute of Experimental Physics at Freie Universität Berlin since November 2013. Since January 2013 she has been the director of the newly established Institute of Nano-architectures for Energy Conversion at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie. She earned a doctorate and completed the habilitation process in materials science at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. She also conducted research at Columbia University in New York City. She is an expert in nanostructures and developed several new procedures, including one to integrate nanowires as efficient absorbers in thin film solar cells.

Chonbuk National University, located at the center of a traditional technology facility in the southwestern part of South Korea, is one of the five most prestigious universities in the country (Leiden World University Rankings).