Sam Burns

IT Director at UT Austin School of Information. PhD Candidate (ABD) in Information Studies. Web accessibility advocate and technology mentor.

About This Site

This site serves as my professional portfolio and curriculum vitae, documenting my career in information technology, research, and education. All content is generated from a single YAML data file, making it easy to maintain and update.

Professional Background

I’ve spent over 20 years working at the intersection of information science and technology. My career has evolved from systems administration to web development, research, and IT leadership, all within the academic environment of the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Information.

Research Interests

My research has focused on:

  • User experience and usability testing
  • Social media behavior and tagging conventions
  • Information architecture
  • Web accessibility
  • Technology adoption in educational settings

Philosophy

I believe in:

  • Open Access: Making research and data publicly available when possible
  • Accessibility: Building technology that works for everyone
  • Mentorship: Supporting the next generation of information professionals
  • Lifelong Learning: Continuously expanding technical and theoretical knowledge

This Website

This site is built with:

  • Jekyll static site generator
  • Minimal Mistakes theme
  • GitHub for version control and hosting
  • GitHub Actions for automated deployment
  • DreamHost for web hosting

The entire site is generated from structured YAML data, demonstrating how a single source of truth can power multiple views of professional information.

Want to build something similar? Check out the source code or get in touch.