WE3 Lab Website — Content Editing Guide

⚠️ Important: Routine content updates should only be made to files inside the content/ folder. Do not modify HTML files, CSS, JavaScript, or build scripts without permission from the group's Social Media coordinator.

The site is rebuilt automatically by GitHub Actions every Sunday at 6 pm PT. You can also trigger a rebuild manually at any time.

How to trigger a rebuild

Option 1 — GitHub Actions (recommended): Go to Actions → Update Site → Run workflow in the GitHub repository.

Option 2 — Local: Run build scripts from the repo root:

python3 scripts/build_home_page.py
python3 scripts/build_people_page.py
python3 scripts/build_research_page.py
python3 scripts/build_research_subpages.py
python3 scripts/build_partnerships_page.py

Repo structure

we3lab-website/
├── content/          ← ALL routine edits go here
│   ├── members/
│   │   ├── members.json              ← member bios and links
│   │   ├── alumni.json               ← alumni links
│   │   ├── meagan.json               ← Meagan's bio and links
│   │   └── headshots/                ← member headshot images
│   ├── projects/
│   │   └── projects.json             ← project descriptions
│   ├── publications/
│   │   └── publications.json         ← publications and presentations (automatically updated but needs to be tagged manually with research areas)
│   ├── research_areas/
│   │   ├── research_areas.json       ← research area descriptions
│   │   └── research_area_images/     ← research area background images
│   ├── partnerships/
│   │   ├── partnerships.json         ← parnter info
│   │   └── partner_logos/            ← partner logos
│   ├── news/
│   │   └── news.json                 ← news titles and links
│   ├── teaching/
│   │   └── teaching.json             ← course descriptions
│   └── dissertations/
│       └── dissertations.json        ← dissertation titles and videos
├── scripts/          ← build scripts (do not edit without permission)
├── docs/             ← built site served by GitHub Pages (do not edit directly)
└── .github/          ← GitHub Actions workflow (do not edit without permission)

Adding a group member

What's manual

Add a headshot image to content/members/headshots/
Add a JSON entry to content/members/members.json

What's automatic

Profile page at people/{FirstLast}.html is generated on the next build
The member appears in the people grid on people.html
The member's headshot is copied to docs/images/headshots/ on each build

Steps

Add a headshot to content/members/headshots/ named FirstLast.png (PascalCase, no spaces, no "Dr." — e.g. JaneSmith.png). Square crop; 400×400 px is ideal. Accepted formats: .png, .jpg.
Add an entry to content/members/members.json:

{
  "name": "Jane Smith",
  "netID": "jsmith",
  "email": "jsmith@stanford.edu",
  "role": "phd student",
  // Valid roles: "postdoc" | "phd student" | "ms student" | "undergrad" | "admin"
  //              "staff" | "staff scientist" | "research engineer"
  "bio": "One or two sentences about Jane's research focus.",
  "scholar_url": "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XXXXXXXXX",
  "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/janesmith/",
  "website": "",
  "cv": ""
}

Run build_people_page.py.

Moving a member to alumni

What's manual

Remove from members.json, add to alumni.json
Optionally add a netID so the person continues to appear as a team member on project and publication cards

What's automatic

Profile page is no longer generated on the next build
Person moves to the Alumni section on people.html
If netID is present, name and headshot still appear on project/publication cards (without a profile link)

Steps

Remove the person's entry from content/members/members.json.
Add an entry to content/members/alumni.json:

{
  "name": "Jane Smith",
  "degree_year": "PhD 2025",
  // Format: "PhD YYYY" | "MS YYYY" | "Postdoc YYYY" | "Co-Term YYYY" | "Visiting MS YYYY"
  "placement": "Assistant Professor, MIT",
  // Convention is to put their first placement after graduation (we don't want to have to track alumni jobs forever)
  "scholar_url": "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XXXXXXXXX",
  "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/janesmith/",
  "netID": "jsmith"
  // netID is optional but recommended — enables project/publication linking
}

Run build_people_page.py.

Adding a news item

What's manual

Add the entry to news.json (most recent first)

What's automatic

News strip on the home page is rebuilt on the next build

Steps

Open content/news/news.json and prepend a new entry at the top of the array (most recent first):

{
  "date": "June 2026",
  "headline": "Paper accepted at Nature Water",
  "organization": "Nature Portfolio",
  "link": "https://doi.org/10.XXXX/XXXXX"
}

Run build_home_page.py.

Adding a project

What's manual

Add the JSON entry to projects.json
Tag research_areas and team manually

What's automatic

Project cards appear on the relevant research area sub-pages and member profile pages on the next build

Steps

Add an entry to content/projects/projects.json:

{
  "id": "unique-project-id",
  "title": "Project Title",
  "team": ["netid1", "netid2"],
  // netIDs from members.json and alumni.json
  "description": "Long-form description. Supports [Markdown links](https://example.com).",
  "research_areas": ["separations", "planning"],
  // See "Reference: valid field values" for all options
  "funding": ["NSF Award #XXXXXXX", "Second funder"],
  "links": [
    { "label": "Web Application", "url": "https://example.com" },
    { "label": "GitHub Repository", "url": "https://github.com/we3lab/repo" }
  ]
}

Run build_research_subpages.py and build_people_page.py.

Adding or updating a publication

What's manual

Adding publications from before 2022, or ones missing from Semantic Scholar
Tagging research_areas on all publications (never done automatically)
Reviewing auto-tagged team assignments for accuracy

What's automatic

Publications from 2022 onward are fetched from Semantic Scholar every Sunday and appended to publications.json
team is auto-populated for 2022+ publications by matching author names to member/alumni netIDs — review for accuracy before relying on it

Steps

For publications not automatically fetched (pre-2022 or missing from Semantic Scholar), add an entry manually to content/publications/publications.json:

{
  "title": "Full Publication Title",
  "authors": "Smith, J., Adkins, C., Mauter, M. S.",
  "journal": "Environmental Science & Technology",
  "year": 2025,
  "doi": "10.1021/acs.est.5c00001",
  // DOI only — no "https://doi.org/" prefix
  "research_areas": ["separations"],
  // Must be tagged manually — see "Reference: valid field values"
  "team": ["cadkins"]
  // Auto-populated for 2022+ publications; verify before editing
}

For any publication (including auto-fetched ones), manually add research_areas tags — this is never done automatically.
Run build_research_subpages.py, build_people_page.py, and build_research_page.py.

Adding a partnership

What's manual

Add logo image to content/partnerships/partner_logos/
Add JSON entry to partnerships.json

What's automatic

Partner logo grid on the Partnerships page is rebuilt on the next build
Logos are copied to docs/images/partner_logos/ on each build

Steps

(Optional) Add a logo image to content/partnerships/partner_logos/. Any common image format (.png, .jpg, .svg) is accepted.
Add an entry to content/partnerships/partnerships.json:

{
  "name": "Partner Organization Name",
  "website": "https://partner.org",
  "logo": "content/partnerships/partner_logos/filename.png",
  // Leave "logo" as "" if no logo is available — name will display instead
  "section": "research"
  // "research" | "utility"
}

Run build_partnerships_page.py.

Modifying a research area

What's manual

All fields in research_areas.json
Banner image placed in content/research_areas/research_area_images/

What's automatic

Research area cards on research-areas.html and the home page diamond are rebuilt on the next build
Research area sub-pages (research/*.html) are regenerated automatically

Steps

(If adding a new area) Add a banner image to content/research_areas/research_area_images/.
Edit the relevant entry in content/research_areas/research_areas.json (or add a new one):

{
  "id": "separations",
  // Must be unique; used as a reference key in projects and publications
  "name": "Separations Process Optimization & Technoeconomic Analysis",
  "file": "research/separations.html",
  "active": true,
  // true → appears in main Research grid and home page diamond
  // false → appears in "Previous Research" section with archive note
  "image": "content/research_areas/research_area_images/photo.jpg",
  "description": "Short description shown on research cards.",
  "overview": [
    "First paragraph of the Research Overview section.",
    "Second paragraph (add more strings for more paragraphs)."
  ],
  "archive_note": ""
  // Only shown when active is false — explains why area was archived
}

Run all build scripts after any change to research_areas.json.

Adding a course

What's manual

Add the JSON entry to teaching.json

What's automatic

Teaching page is rebuilt on the next build

Steps

Add an entry to content/teaching/teaching.json:

{
  "course_code": "CEE 273X",
  "name": "Course Title",
  "quarters": ["Autumn 2026"],
  // Each string renders as a pill tag; add multiple for multiple offerings
  "description": "Brief course description.",
  "link": "https://navigator.stanford.edu/..."
  // Optional link to course listing or syllabus
}

Run build_research_page.py.

Adding a dissertation

What's manual

Add the JSON entry to dissertations.json

What's automatic

Dissertation strip on research-areas.html is rebuilt on the next build; entries are sorted by date automatically

Steps

Add an entry to content/dissertations/dissertations.json:

{
  "title": "Full Dissertation Title",
  "name": "Graduate Student Full Name",
  "date": "May 26, 2026",
  // Any readable format: "May 26, 2026" | "June 2026" | etc.
  "link": "https://youtu.be/XXXXXXXXXXX"
  // YouTube URL — video is embedded with a copy-link button
  // Leave "" if no recording is available
}

Run build_research_page.py.

Reference: valid field values

`research_areas` (used in projects and publications)

ID	Area name	Status
`separations`	Separations Process Optimization & Technoeconomic Analysis	Active
`flexibility`	Industrial-Energy Flexibility & Grid Integration	Active
`planning`	Water & Wastewater Systems Planning	Active
`data`	Water-Energy Data & Data Infrastructure	Active
`wef`	Water-Energy-Food Policies	Archived
`technology`	Water Treatment Technology	Archived

`role` (used in members.json)

Value	Displayed as	Section
`postdoc`	Postdoctoral Researcher	Postdoctoral Researchers
`phd student`	PhD Student	PhD Students
`ms student`	MS Student	MS Students
`undergrad`	Undergraduate Student	Undergraduate Researchers
`admin`	Administrative Staff	Administrative Staff
`staff`	Research Staff	Research Staff
`staff scientist`	Staff Scientist	Research Staff
`research engineer`	Research Engineer	Research Staff

`section` (used in partnerships.json)

Value	Displayed under
`research`	Research Partnerships
`utility`	Utility Partnerships

Automation summary

Content file	What happens automatically	Script(s)
`news.json`	Home page news strip rebuilt	`build_home_page.py`
`research_areas.json`	Home page diamond + research cards + all sub-pages rebuilt; research area images copied to `docs/images/`	`build_home_page.py`, `build_research_page.py`, `build_research_subpages.py`
`teaching.json`	Teaching page rebuilt	`build_research_page.py`
`dissertations.json`	Dissertation strip rebuilt	`build_research_page.py`
`publications.json`	Publications page + research sub-pages + member profiles rebuilt	`build_research_page.py`, `build_research_subpages.py`, `build_people_page.py`
`projects.json`	Research sub-pages + member profiles rebuilt	`build_research_subpages.py`, `build_people_page.py`
`members.json`	People page + all profile pages regenerated; headshots copied to `docs/images/`	`build_people_page.py`
`alumni.json`	People page rebuilt; alumni appear on project/publication cards if `netID` is present	`build_people_page.py`
`meagan.json`	PI section on people page rebuilt	`build_people_page.py`
`partnerships.json`	Partnerships page rebuilt; partner logos copied to `docs/images/`	`build_partnerships_page.py`
`publications.json`	New publications fetched from Semantic Scholar weekly; `team` auto-tagged for 2022+ entries	GitHub Actions (weekly)

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 71 Commits
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
content		content
docs		docs
scripts		scripts
.gitignore		.gitignore
.nojekyll		.nojekyll
README.md		README.md

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WE3 Lab Website — Content Editing Guide

Table of Contents

How to trigger a rebuild

Repo structure

Adding a group member

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Moving a member to alumni

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Adding a news item

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Adding a project

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Adding or updating a publication

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Adding a partnership

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Modifying a research area

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Adding a course

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Adding a dissertation

What's manual

What's automatic

Steps

Reference: valid field values

research_areas (used in projects and publications)

role (used in members.json)

section (used in partnerships.json)

Automation summary

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`research_areas` (used in projects and publications)

`role` (used in members.json)

`section` (used in partnerships.json)

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