Joint Centre for Disaster Research - PhD Portfolio

This is a Jekyll-based GitHub Pages website showcasing PhD student research portfolios at the Joint Centre for Disaster Research (JCDR), a collaborative research centre between Massey University and GNS Science.

Features

• Responsive design optimized for all devices
• Student portfolio pages with comprehensive research information
• Blog functionality for research updates and news
• Professional styling with modern UI components
• SEO-optimized with meta tags and structured data
• Easy content management through Markdown files

Structure

├── _config.yml              # Site configuration
├── _layouts/                 # Page templates
│   ├── default.html
│   ├── student.html
│   ├── post.html
├── _includes/                # Reusable components
│   ├── head.html
│   ├── header.html
│   └── footer.html
├── _students/                # Student portfolio collection
│   ├── sarah-johnson.md
│   ├── michael-chen.md
│   └── emma-rodriguez.md
├── _posts/                   # Blog posts
├── assets/
│   ├── css/style.css        # Custom styles
│   └── images/              # Site images
├── pages/                   # Static pages
│   ├── about.md
│   ├── research.md
│   ├── students.md
│   └── contact.md
└── index.html               # Homepage

Setup Instructions

Local Development

1. Install Ruby and Jekyll

   # Install Ruby (if not already installed)
   # On macOS with Homebrew:
   brew install ruby
   
   # Install Jekyll and Bundler
   gem install jekyll bundler

2. Clone and Setup

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd jcdr-phd-portfolio
   bundle install

3. Run Locally

   bundle exec jekyll serve

   The site will be available at http://localhost:4000

GitHub Pages Deployment

1. Repository Setup

   • Create a new repository on GitHub
   • Push this code to the repository

2. Enable GitHub Pages

   • Go to repository Settings → Pages
   • Set Source to "Deploy from a branch"
   • Select the main branch
   • The site will be available at https://yourusername.github.io/repository-name

3. Update Configuration

   • Edit _config.yml to update the url and baseurl settings
   • Update site title, description, and contact information

Adding New Students

To add a new student portfolio:

1. Create a new file in _students/ directory (e.g., john-doe.md)
2. Use the following template:

---
name: "Student Name"
research_area: "Research Focus Area"
supervisor: "Supervisor Name"
year: "Year Started"
institution: "Institution"
email: "email@domain.com"
image: "/assets/images/students/student-photo.jpg"
publications:
  - title: "Paper Title"
    journal: "Journal Name"
    year: 2024
    url: "https://link-to-paper.com"
conferences:
  - title: "Presentation Title"
    event: "Conference Name"
    year: 2024
awards:
  - title: "Award Name"
    organization: "Organization"
    year: 2024
skills:
  - "Skill 1"
  - "Skill 2"
social_links:
  - platform: "linkedin"
    url: "https://linkedin.com/in/profile"
---

## Research Description

Write the student's research description here using Markdown formatting...

Adding Blog Posts

Create new files in _posts/ directory with the naming convention: YYYY-MM-DD-title.md

Example frontmatter:

---
layout: post
title: "Post Title"
date: 2024-07-24 10:00:00 +1200
author: "Author Name"
categories: research publications
---

Post content here...

Customization

Styling

• Main styles are in assets/css/style.css
• Colors, fonts, and layout can be customized here
• The design uses a professional blue color scheme with modern typography

Navigation

• Update navigation links in _includes/header.html
• Add new pages by creating Markdown files and updating navigation

Content

• Update site information in _config.yml
• Modify page content in the respective Markdown files
• Add images to assets/images/ directory

Student Portfolio Features

Each student portfolio includes:

• Professional profile with photo
• Research overview and current projects
• Publications list with links
• Conference presentations
• Awards and recognition
• Skills and expertise tags
• Social media links (LinkedIn, ResearchGate, etc.)
• Contact information

Technical Features

• Responsive Design: Mobile-first approach with grid layouts
• SEO Optimization: Meta tags, structured data, sitemap
• Performance: Optimized CSS and minimal JavaScript
• Accessibility: Semantic HTML and ARIA labels
• Social Integration: Font Awesome icons for social platforms

Contributing

To contribute to this website:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

Support

For technical support or questions about the website, contact the JCDR web team at jcdr@massey.ac.nz.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the repository for details.