Refactor team roster to data-driven JSON files

[kcarnold]

Summary

Converted the hardcoded team member list on the About page into a data-driven system using individual JSON files. This eliminates merge conflicts when multiple team members add themselves simultaneously and makes it easier to manage team status changes (current vs. alumni).

Key Changes

• Data-driven team roster: Replaced hardcoded HTML markup with a dynamic system that reads JSON files from src/data/people/. Each team member is now a single JSON file with fields for name, photo, role, status, order, and optional link.
• Automatic sorting and filtering: Current team members are sorted by order field (then alphabetically), while alumni are sorted alphabetically. The About page automatically categorizes people based on their status field.
• Contributor documentation: Added CONTRIBUTING.md and CLAUDE.md to guide human and AI contributors on how to add team members and maintain the site.
• Team member JSON files: Created individual JSON files for all current and alumni team members, with an _example.json template for future contributors.
• Layout improvements:
  • Added dynamic canonical URL generation in Layout.astro
  • Changed LabHeader from client:only to client:load for better performance
  • Updated footer copyright to use dynamic year
  • Added Vision page link to footer navigation
• SEO and deployment enhancements:
  • Added Astro sitemap integration for better search engine discoverability
  • Added robots.txt and favicon.svg
  • Fixed favicon path and canonical URL handling
  • Updated deployment documentation to reflect Cloudflare setup
• Code cleanup: Removed unused imports and cleaned up whitespace across modified files

Implementation Details

• Team members are loaded via import.meta.glob() with eager loading, filtering out files starting with _
• Avatar fallback uses ui-avatars.com API when no photo is provided
• Optional links on team member names allow for personal websites or GitHub profiles
• The system supports future role customization beyond "Undergraduate Researcher"

https://claude.ai/code/session_01Xuat3bQWtEEeWMwoBwNfBL

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Refactors the About page’s team roster from hardcoded markup into a data-driven model backed by per-person JSON files, alongside a set of SEO/site-shell improvements (canonical URL, sitemap/robots, favicon), contributor docs, and a basic CI build check.

Changes:

• Replace hardcoded team member HTML on about.astro with import.meta.glob()-loaded JSON data, plus sorting/filtering for current vs. alumni.
• Improve site shell/SEO (dynamic canonical URL, sitemap integration, robots.txt, favicon path) and minor layout/nav updates.
• Add contributor/agent documentation and introduce CI that runs npm run build on PRs.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 23 out of 24 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/pages/projects/ai-writers-2024-25/index.astro	Removes page-level header/footer usage (relies on shared Layout).
src/pages/about.astro	Implements JSON-driven team roster (sorting/filtering, avatar fallback, optional links).
src/pages/404.astro	Adds meta description for SEO.
src/layouts/Layout.astro	Adds dynamic canonical URL, fixes favicon path, switches header/footer hydration to client:load.
src/data/people/README.md	Documents how to add/update people JSON files.
src/data/people/_example.json	Template JSON for future team members.
src/data/people/*.json	Adds per-person JSON records used by the About page.
src/components/lab/LabFooter.tsx	Dynamic year + adds “Vision” link in footer navigation.
README-astro.md	Updates deployment notes for Cloudflare.
public/robots.txt	Adds robots rules + sitemap URL.
public/favicon.svg	Adds a new SVG favicon.
package.json	Adds @astrojs/sitemap dependency.
CONTRIBUTING.md	Adds contributor onboarding and repo structure guidance.
CLAUDE.md	Adds standing guidance for AI coding agents in this repo.
astro.config.mjs	Adds sitemap integration and sets site.
.github/workflows/ci.yml	Adds CI workflow to build on PRs/pushes.

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