He joined the University of Kentucky in 1967 and in 1972 moved to the University of Washington as Professor of Chemistry. He is currently Divisional Dean of Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. Christian's research interests include electroanalytical chemistry, atomic spectroscopy, process analysis, and flow injection analysis. He is author of over 300 papers and has authored books on atomic absorption spectroscopy, trace analysis, analytical chemistry, instrumental analysis, and problem solving in analytical chemistry. He is Editor-in-Chief of Talanta and serves on the editorial boards of nine other journals.