Introduction
Dr. Debashis Chakraborty, a chemistry professor at IIT Madras, reached out to me to design a website for his academic pursuits.
His academic portfolio website was meant to be a platform for his research interests, publications, and contact information.
As a web developer, I accepted the challenge and worked closely with Dr. Debashis to create a website that met his expectations and needs.
Background
Dr. Debashis Chakraborty has been teaching chemistry for over 20 years and has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals. He wanted his website to reflect his academic experience and showcase his research interests, publications, and contact information.
He also wanted the website to be user-friendly and easy to navigate for both students and colleagues. Additionally, he was predetermined to get the website built on Wix so that he can maintain it easily in the future.
Design Process
I started by conducting research on the design and layout of academic websites for professors in the field of chemistry. Based on my findings, I proposed a few design options to Dr. Debashis, and we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
We agreed on a clean and simple design with a color scheme that was easy on the eyes.
I then proceeded to design the website using Wix (as requested by him). I started with the homepage, which included a brief introduction of Dr. Debashis, his research interests, and a photo. The homepage also included links to his publications, contact information.
- The publications section was designed to showcase Dr. Debashis’ research papers, which were organized by year of publication.
- Considering his array of work, I built a separate page dedicated to publications. Further categorizing them into three parts- Work Experience, Research Publications and List Patents.
- The contact section included Dr. Debashis’ email address and form. The Research section had links to his Research Groups, Research Blog and a list of students he has guided or been guiding in the research.
- Further, the homepage alone couldn’t do justice with his profile. Hence, a separate about page was built. That includes listing things like Laurels, Teaching Activities, CV, Google Scholar Profile, Education, Thesis and so forth.
Once the website was designed, I tested it extensively to ensure that it was optimized for different screen sizes and browsers.
Outcome
Dr. Debashis was thrilled with the final design of the website. He found it to be user-friendly and easy to navigate, and it reflected his academic experience and research interests accurately. The website was launched on time and received positive feedback from Dr. Debashis’ colleagues and students.
Conclusion- Academic Portfolio Website
The purpose of sharing this website case study is to give insights to anyone looking to make something similar in the future. Designing an academic portfolio website can be challenging, but it is also rewarding.
Honestly speaking, I felt honoured to do this for such a prestigious person.
By working closely with Dr. Debashis, I was able to create a website that met his needs and reflected his academic experience and research interests. The website was launched on time, and it has been a valuable tool for Dr. Debashis to communicate with his students and colleagues.
Excited to get a professional website for yourself? Feel free to get in touch.
