Kelley Christensen

Kelley Christensen

Contact

  • Science and Technology Publications Writer

Biography

Kelley writes university research stories and articles for university publications. She studied news-editorial journalism and American literature at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and holds a master's in technical communication from Montana Tech. She is pursuing her doctorate in environmental policy at Michigan Tech.

About Kelley

  • Her career includes writing for small-town newspapers in Montana and working as a public information officer, an events coordinator, and science editor for an IEEE publication, Earthzine.
  • She enjoys hiking and cross-country skiing with her family, reading voraciously, crocheting, and exploring the Keweenaw.

Recent Stories 

Whole-tree Harvesting Could Boost Biomass Production

Whole-tree aspen logging promotes renewable biomass energy from tops and branches, parts of the tree that are often left in the forest during logging in favor of the tree’s trunk — using the residual that remains after a sustainable harvest for logs.

This is a story of carbon choices: As societies around the world continue to move toward increased renewable energy portfolios, which energy sources do we choose? In the U.S., coal plants are closing, but carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere continues to rise. Pivoting toward renewable energy sources like wind, solar and biofuels is . . . Read More

Fixing the Fractures in Rural Medicine

Improving patient care and outcomes in rural areas requires a mix of reliable patient identification, capitalizing on algorithms and artificial intelligence, and community involvement.

This may seem overly cautious and farfetched, but a 2016 study in the medical journal The BMJ found that medical errors, if classified as a disease, would be the third-leading cause of death in the United States behind cancer and heart disease. To compound what many say is a fractured medical system, it’s a recognized fact that . . . Read More

Deploying High-frequency Radar in the Straits of Mackinac

The Mackinac Straits are known for their volatile currents. A pilot high-frequency radar project aims to increase understanding of those currents and others in the Great Lakes.

The currents of the Straits of Mackinac are known for their volatility; they have for millennia pushed the birch bark canoes of Native Americans and voyageurs alike off course and forced lake freighters aground. The currents are also part of the complex lake system that links Lake Michigan to Lake Huron. Monitoring currents and waves in the . . . Read More

Unbounded Singularities and Mixed Metaphors

An application of Yang’s work on unbounded singularities is to improve oil well siting.

Yang Yang, associate professor of mathematical sciences, uses high-order numerical techniques to solve mathematical models with unbounded singularities — points in models that defy predictions of what might occur at those points. Because Yang’s work in pure mathematics is so deeply theoretical, it can be difficult . . . Read More