latex thesis abstract

because LaTeX matters

Writing a thesis in latex.

Writing a thesis is a time-intensive endeavor. Fortunately, using LaTeX, you can focus on the content rather than the formatting of your thesis. The following article summarizes the most important aspects of writing a thesis in LaTeX, providing you with a document skeleton (at the end) and lots of additional tips and tricks.

Document class

The first choice in most cases will be the report document class:

See here for a complete list of options. Personally, I use draft a lot. It replaces figures with a box of the size of the figure. It saves you time generating the document. Furthermore, it will highlight justification and hyphenation errors ( Overfull \hbox ).

Check with your college or university. They may have an official or unofficial template/class-file to be used for writing a thesis.

Again, follow the instructions of your institution if there are any. Otherwise, LaTeX provides a few basic command for the creation of a title page.

Use \today as \date argument to automatically generate the current date. Leave it empty in case you don’t want the date to be printed. As shown in the example, the author command can be extended to print several lines.

For a more sophisticated title page, the titlespages package has a nice collection of pre-formatted front pages. For different affiliations use the authblk package, see here for some examples.

Contents (toc/lof/lot)

Nothing special here.

The tocloft package offers great flexibility in formatting contents. See here for a selection of possibilities.

Often, the page numbers are changed to roman for this introductory part of the document and only later, for the actual content, arabic page numbering is used. This can be done by placing the following commands before and after the contents commands respectively.

LaTeX provides the abstract environment which will print “Abstract” centered as a title.

The actual content

The most important and extensive part is the content. I strongly suggest to split up every chapter into an individual file and load them in the main tex-file.

In thesis.tex:

In chapter1.tex:

This way, you can typeset single chapters or parts of the whole thesis only, by commenting out what you want to exclude. Remember, the document can only be generated from the main file (thesis.tex), since the individual chapters are missing a proper LaTeX document structure.

See here for a discussion on whether to use \input or \include .

Bibliography

The most convenient way is to use a bib-tex file that contains all your references. You can download bibtex items for articles, books, etc. from Google scholar or often directly from the journal websites.

Two packages are commonly used to personalize bibliographies, the newer biblatex and the natbib package, which has been around for many years. These packages offer great flexibility in customizing the look of a bibliography, depending on the preference in the field or the author.

Other commonly used packages

• graphicx : Indispensable when working with figures/graphs.
• subfig : Controlling arrangement of several figures (e.g. 2×2 matrix)
• minitoc : Adds mini table of contents to every chapter
• nomencl : Generate and format a nomenclature
• listings : Source code printer for LaTeX
• babel : Multilingual package for standard document classes
• fancyhdr : Controlling header and footer
• hyperref : Hypertext links for LaTeX
• And many more

Minimal example code

I’m aware that this short post on writing a thesis only covers the very basics of a vast topic. However, it will help you getting started and focussing on the content of your thesis rather than the formatting of the document.

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16 comments.

8. June 2012 at 7:09

I would rather recommend a documentclass like memoir or scrreprt (from KOMA-Script), since they are much more flexible than report.

8. June 2012 at 8:12

I agree, my experience with them is limited though. Thanks for the addendum. Here is the documentation: memoir , scrreprt (KOMA script)

8. June 2012 at 8:02

Nice post Tom. I’m actually writing a two-part (or three) on Writing the PhD thesis: the tools . Feel free to comment, I hope to update it as I write my thesis, so any suggestions are welcome.

8. June 2012 at 8:05

Thanks for the link. I just saw your post and thought I should really check out git sometimes :-). Best, Tom.

8. June 2012 at 8:10

Yes, git is awesome. It can be a bit overwhelming with all the options and commands, but if you’re just working alone, and probably on several machines, then you can do everything effortlessly with few commands.

11. June 2012 at 2:15

That’s what has kept me so far. But I’ll definitely give it a try. Thanks!

8. June 2012 at 8:08

What a great overview. Thank you, this will come handy… when I finally get myself to start writing that thesis 🙂

8. June 2012 at 14:12

Thanks and good luck with your thesis! Tom.

9. June 2012 at 4:08

Hi, I can recommend two important packages: lineno.sty to insert linenumbers (really helpful in the debugging phase) and todonotes (allows you to insert todo-notes for things you still have to do.)

11. June 2012 at 0:48

Thanks Uwe! I wrote an article on both, lineno and todonotes . Here is the documentation: lineno and todonotes for more details.

12. June 2012 at 15:51

Thanks for the post, i’m currently writing my master thesis 🙂

A small note: it seems that subfig is deprecated for the subcaption package: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX/Floats,_Figures_and_Captions#Subfloats

12. June 2012 at 16:05

Hey, thanks for the tip. Too bad they don’t say anything in the documentation apart from the fact that the packages are not compatible.

1. August 2012 at 21:11

good thesis template can be also found here (free): http://enjobs.org/index.php/downloads2

including living headers, empty pages, two-sided with front and main matter as well as a complete structure

2. August 2012 at 11:03

Thanks for the link to the thesis template!

15. November 2012 at 22:21

Hi Tom, I’m writing a report on spanish in LaTex, using emacs, auctex, aspell (~170pags. ~70 files included by now) and this blog is my savior every time because I’m quite new with all these.

The question: Is there anyway (other than \- in every occurrence) to define the correct hyphenation for accented words (non english characters like é)? I have three o four accented words, about the subject of my report, that occur near 100 times each, across several files, and the \hyphenation{} command can’t handle these.

20. November 2012 at 3:47

I was wondering what packages you load in your preamble. For a better hyphenation (and easier typing), you should use these packages:

See here for more details.

If this doesn’t help, please provide a minimal working example to illustrate the problem.

Thanks, Tom.

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Overleaf for LaTeX Theses & Dissertations: Home

• Using Templates on Overleaf
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Dissertations and Theses

Tips and tools for writing your LaTeX thesis or dissertation in Overleaf, including templates, managing references , and getting started guides.

Getting started with your thesis or dissertation

How to get started writing your thesis in LaTeX

Writing a thesis or dissertation in LaTeX can be challenging, but the end result is well worth it - nothing looks as good as a LaTeX-produced pdf, and for large documents it's a lot easier than fighting with formatting and cross-referencing in MS Word. Review this video from Overleaf to help you get started writing your thesis in LaTeX, using a standard thesis template from the Overleaf Gallery .

You can upload your own thesis template to the Overleaf Gallery if your university provides a set of LaTeX template files or you may find your university's thesis template already in the Overleaf Gallery.

This video assumes you've used LaTeX before and are familiar with the standard commands (see our other tutorial videos  if not), and focuses on how to work with a large project split over multiple files.

5-part Guide on How to Write a Thesis in LaTeX

5-part LaTeX Thesis Writing Guide

Part 1: Basic Structure corresponding  video

Part 2: Page Layout corresponding  video

Part 3: Figures, Subfigures and Tables   corresponding video

Part 4: Bibliographies with Biblatex corresponding video

Part 5: Customizing Your Title Page and Abstract corresponding video

Managing References

BibTeX is a file format used for lists of references for LaTeX documents. Many citation management tools support the ability to export and import lists of references in .bib format. Some reference management tools can generate BibTeX files of your library or folders for use in your LaTeX documents.

LaTeX on Wikibooks has a Bibliography Management page.

Find list of BibTeX styles available on Overleaf here

View a video tutorial on how to include a bibliography using BibTeX  here

Collaborate with Overleaf

Collaboration tools

Every project you create has a secret link. Just send it to your co-authors, and they can review, comment and edit. Overleaf synchronizes changes from all authors, so everyone always has the latest version. More advanced tools include protected projects and integration with Git.

Collaborate online and offline with Overleaf and Git

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Link your ORCiD ID

Link your ORCiD account to your Overleaf account.

Add Institutional Library contact info here.

Contact Overleaf   or email [email protected]

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• Last Updated: Oct 6, 2022 1:00 PM
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Submit and publish your thesis.

• The Graduate Thesis: What is it?
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Formatting in LaTeX

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For formatting instructions and requirements see the Formatting section of the School of Graduate Studies website. The thesis style template for LaTeX ( ut-thesis ) implements these requirements. You are not required to use the template, but using it will make most of the formatting requirements easier to meet.

►► Thesis template for LaTeX .

Below are some general formatting tips for drafting your thesis in LaTeX.  In addition, there are other supports available:

• Regular LaTeX workshops are offered via the library, watch the library workshop calendar at https://libcal.library.utoronto.ca/
• With questions about LaTeX formatting, contact Map and Data Library (MDL) using this form
• There are also great resources for learning LaTeX available via Overleaf

Many common problems have been solved on the TeX - LaTeX Stack Exchange Q & A Forum

LaTeX Template

To use the LaTeX and ut-thesis , you need two things: a LaTeX distribution (compiles your code), and an editor (where you write your code). Two main approaches are:

• Overleaf : is a web-based platform that combines a distribution (TeX Live) and an editor. It is beginner-friendly (minimal set-up) and some people prefer a cloud-based platform. However, manually uploading graphics and managing a bibliographic database can be tedious, especially for large projects like a thesis.
• A LaTeX distribution can be installed as described here . ut-thesis can then be installed either: a) initially, with the distribution; b) automatically when you try to compile a document using \usepackage{ut-thesis} ; or manually via graphical or terminal-based package manager for the distribution.
• The LaTeX distribution allows you to compile code, but provides no tools for writing (e.g. syntax highlighting, hotkeys, command completion, etc.). There are many editor options that provide these features. TeXstudio is one popular option.

Occasionally, the version of ut-thesis on GitHub  may be more up-to-date than the popular distributions (especially yearly TeX Live), including small bug fixes. To use the GitHub version, you can download the file ut-thesis.cls (and maybe the documentation ut-thesis .pdf ) and place it in your working directory. This will take priority over any other versions of ut-thesis on your system while in this directory.

LaTeX Formatting Tips

Here are a few tips & tricks for formatting your thesis in LateX.

Document Structure

Using the ut-thesis document class, a minimal example thesis might look like:

\documentclass{ut-thesis} \author {Your Name} \title {Thesis Title} \degree {Doctor of Philosophy} \department {LaTeX} \gradyear {2020} \begin {document}   \frontmatter   \maketitle   \begin {abstract}     % abstract goes here   \end {abstract}   \tableofcontents   \mainmatter   % main chapters go here   % references go here   \appendix   % appendices go here \end {document}

►►  A larger example is available on GitHub here .

You may want to consider splitting your code into multiple files. The contents of each file can then be added using \input{filename} .

The usual commands for document hierarchy are available like \chapter , \section , \subsection , \subsubsection , and \paragraph . To control which appear in the \tableofcontents , you can use \setcounter{tocdepth}{i} , where i = 2 includes up to \subsection , etc. For unnumbered sections, use \section* , etc. No component should be empty, such as \section{...} immediately followed by \subsection{...} .

Note: In the examples below, we denote the preamble vs body like:

preamble code --- body code

Tables & Figures

In LaTeX, tables and figures are environments called “floats”, and they usually don’t appear exactly where you have them in the code. This is to avoid awkward whitespace. Float environments are used like \begin{env} ... \end{env} , where the entire content ... will move with the float. If you really need a float to appear exactly “here”, you can use:

\usepackage{float} --- \begin{ figure}[H] ... \end {figure}

Most other environments (like equation) do not float.

A LaTeX table as a numbered float is distinct from tabular data. So, a typical table might look like:

\usepackage{booktabs} --- \begin {table}   \centering   \caption {The table caption}   \begin {tabular}{crll}     i &   Name & A &  B \\     1 &  First & 1 &  2 \\     2 & Second & 3 &  5 \\     3 &  Third & 8 & 13   \end {tabular} \end {table}

The & separates cells and \\ makes a new row. The {crll} specifies four columns: 1 centred, 1 right-aligned, and 2 left-aligned.

Fancy Tables

Some helpful packages for creating more advanced tabular data:

• booktabs : provides the commands \toprule , \midrile , and \bottomrule , which add horizontal lines of slightly different weights.
• multicol : provides the command \multicolumn{2}{r}{...} to “merge” 2 cells horizontally with the content ... , centred.
• multirow : provides the command \multirow{2}{*}{...} , to “merge” 2 cells vertically with the content ... , having width computed automatically (*).

A LaTeX figure is similarly distinct from graphical content. To include graphics, it’s best to use the command \includegraphics from the graphicx package. Then, a typical figure might look like:

\usepackage{graphicx} --- \begin {figure}   \centering   \includegraphics[width=.6 \textwidth ]{figurename} \end {figure}

Here we use .6\textwidth to make the graphic 60% the width of the main text.

By default, graphicx will look for figurename in the same folder as main.tex ; if you need to add other folders, you can use \graphicspath{{folder1/}{folder2/}...} .

The preferred package for subfigures is subcaption ; you can use it like:

\usepackage{subcaption} --- \begin {figure} % or table, then subtable below   \begin {subfigure}{0.5 \textwidth }     \includegraphics[width= \textwidth ]{figureA}     \caption {First subcaption}   \end {subfigure}   \begin {subfigure}{0.5 \textwidth }     \includegraphics[width= \textwidth ]{figureB}     \caption {Second subcaption}   \end {subfigure}   \caption {Overall figure caption} \end {figure}

This makes two subfigures each 50% of the text width, with respective subcaptions, plus an overall figure caption.

Math can be added inline with body text like $E = m c^2$ , or as a standalone equation like:

\begin {equation}   E = m c^2 \end {equation}

A complete guide to math is beyond our scope here; again, Overleaf provides a great set of resources to get started.

Cross References

We recommend using the hyperref package to make clickable links within your thesis, such as the table of contents, and references to equations, tables, figures, and other sections.

A cross-reference label can be added to a section or float environment using \label{key} , and referenced elsewhere using \ref{key} . The key will not appear in the final document (unless there is an error), so we recommend a naming convention like fig:diagram , tab:summary , or intro:back for \section{Background} within \chapter{Intro} , for example. We also recommend using a non-breaking space ~ like Figure~\ref{fig:diagram} , so that a linebreak will not separate “Figure” and the number.

You may need to compile multiple times to resolve cross-references (and citations). However, this occurs by default as needed in most editors.

The LaTeX package tikz provides excellent tools for drawing diagrams and even plotting basic math functions. Here is one small example:

\usepackage{tikz} --- \begin {tikzpicture}   \node [red,circle]  (a) at (0,0) {A};   \node [blue,square] (b) at (1,0) {B};   \draw [dotted,->]   (a) -- node[above]{ $ \alpha $ } (b); \end {tikzpicture}

Don’t forget semicolons after every command, or else you will get stuck while compiling.

There are several options for managing references in LaTeX. We recommend the most modern package: biblatex , with the biber backend.  A helpful overview is given here .

Assuming you have a file called references.bib that looks like:

@article{Lastname2020,   title = {The article title},   author = {Lastname, First and Last2, First2 and Last3 and First3},   journal = {Journal Name},   year = {2020},   vol = {99},   no = {1} } ...

then you can cite the reference Lastname2020 using biblatex like:

\usepackage[backend=biber]{biblatex} \addbibresource {references.bib} --- \cite {Lastname2020} ... \printbibliography

Depending on what editor you’re using to compile, this may work straight away. If not, you may need to update your compiling command to:

pdflatex main && biber main && pdflatex main && pdflatex main

Assuming your document is called main.tex . This is because biber is a separate tool from pdflatex . So in the command above, we first identify the cited sources using pdflatex , then collect the reference information using biber , then finish compiling the document using pdflatex , and then we compile once more in case anything got missed.

There are many options when loading biblatex to configure the reference formatting; it’s best to search the CTAN documentation for what you want to do.

Windows users may find that biber.exe or bibtex.exe get silently blocked by some antivirus software. Usually, an exception can be added within the antivirus software to allow these programs to run.

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Overleaf for Scholarly Writing & Publication: LaTeX Theses and Dissertations

• Reference Managers and Overleaf
• Adding Graphs, Tables, and Images
• Using Templates on Overleaf
• LaTeX Theses and Dissertations

LaTeX Theses and Dissertatons

Tips and tools for writing your LaTeX thesis or dissertation in  Overleaf, including templates, managing references , and getting started guides.

Managing References

BibTeX  is a file format used for lists of references for  LaTeX  documents. Many citation management tools support the ability to export and import lists of references in .bib format. Some reference management tools can generate  BibTeX  files of your library or folders for use in your  LaTeX  documents.

LaTeX on Wikibooks   has a  Bibliography Management  page.

Find list of BibTeX styles available on Overleaf   here

View a video tutorial on how to include a bibliography using BibTeX  here

Collaborate with Overleaf

Collaboration tools

Every project you create has a secret link. Just send it to your co-authors, and they can review, comment and edit. Overleaf synchronizes changes from all authors, so everyone always has the latest version. More advanced tools include protected projects and integration with Git.

Collaborate online and offline with Overleaf and Git

Protected projects with Overleaf Pro

Getting Started with Your Thesis or Dissertation

How to get started writing your thesis in LaTeX

Writing a thesis or dissertation in LaTeX can be challenging, but the end result is well worth it - nothing looks as good as a LaTeX-produced pdf, and for large documents it's a lot easier than fighting with formatting and cross-referencing in MS Word. Review this video from Overleaf to help you get started writing your thesis in LaTeX, using a standard thesis template from the  Overleaf Gallery .

You can  upload your own thesis template to the Overleaf Gallery   if your university provides a set of LaTeX template files or you may find your university's thesis template already in the Overleaf Gallery.

This video assumes you've used LaTeX before and are familiar with the standard commands (see our other  tutorial videos   if not), and focuses on how to work with a large project split over multiple files.

How to Write your Thesis/Dissertation in LaTeX: A Five-Part Guide

Five-Part LaTeX Thesis/Dissertation  Writing Guide

Part 1: Basic Structure   corresponding  video

Part 2: Page Layout   corresponding  video

Part 3: Figures, Subfigures and Tables   corresponding  video

Part 4: Bibliographies with Biblatex  corresponding  video

Part 5: Customizing Your Title Page and Abstract   corresponding  video

Link Your ORCID

Link yo ur  ORCiD  account  to your  Overleaf account  via the  ORCID @ CMU Portal

Open Knowledge Librarian

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• Last Updated: Oct 4, 2023 9:31 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.cmu.edu/overleaf

Guide to CaltechTHESIS

• Caltech Theses
• Deadlines and Letters of Completion
• Submission Information
• Grad Office Regulations and Required Forms

Format and Presentation Guidelines

Latex and word templates, help with latex, naming your thesis files, symbols and special characters for abstracts, recent thesis examples.

• Thesis Updates and Corrections
• CaltechDATA for Supplementary Material
• Thesis Embargo Policies and Forms
• Copyright Considerations
• Publishers' Policies on Publications in Theses
• Printing & Binding
• Senior Thesis Deposits
• Senior Thesis Prize
• 3MT: Caltech's Three Minute Thesis Competition This link opens in a new window

Author Services and Thesis Librarian

Library Staff

File format and presentation

• The final text of the deposited thesis must be in PDF format.
• Please use the Grad Office Ph.D. thesis regulations for format and presentation as your primary guideline in formatting your thesis.
• Include a separate page with a bibliography of all published, or accepted-for-publication, material included in the thesis. Include the URLs as part of the citations whenever available.
• If one of your files requires specific software to run it that is not regularly or easily obtainable, consider uploading a copy of that software as a zipped file. The same applies to programs you may have written for material in your thesis.
• We highly recommend adding your datasets to CaltechDATA and linking them back to your thesis record.
• The default page margins in the templates are set for single-sided pages: 1.5" on left margin, and 1" on other 3 margins
• If you do NOT plan to print your thesis, you may change the margins to 1" on all margins.
• If you do plan to print your thesis on double-sided pages, consider changing your settings so the 1.5" margin aligns correctly for the inner margin on both left and right pages. This will allow enough space for the binding to not hide any text in the inner margins.
• Embedded fonts, which should be either TrueType or Type 1 , are required for the PDF.
• Font size should be 11- or 12-point .

Original source files

• You must upload your original source files (i.e, your thesis in its pre-PDF format), in CaltechTHESIS to store them as archival sources in your CaltechTHESIS record. This will help us as we deal with format migration and obsolescence in the future, and will also preserve a copy for you should you ever need one.
• TeX files should be zipped, and the zip file uploaded.

Abstract presentation in CaltechTHESIS

• Library staff will compare the CaltechTHESIS Abstract to the thesis' Abstract, and correct the layout and special characters as necessary and possible.
• If your abstract has multiple paragraphs, include HTML paragraph coding (<p>...</p>) in your abstract to ensure your paragraphs display properly.
• If your abstract contains the mathematical symbols "<" or ">" AND you are using any kind of HTML coding as well, you will need to replace the ">" with "&gt;", and the "<" with "&lt;" to prevent display errors in the text block of the abstract.
• Avoid the use of and ampersand (&).  Use the word "and" instead.
• Check out Character Entity References in HTML 4 and XHTML 1.0 for alternatives for the display of special characters.

File size restrictions

• We set no limit to the size of any of the files you submit for your thesis. We do require 1 file with the full thesis.  However, do additionally consider uploading separate chapter files to make it easier for readers to download.

LaTeX Templates

Up-to-date Caltech LaTeX thesis templates can be found and used directly in Caltech's Featured Templates section of the Overleaf website .

Students are not required to have an Overleaf account to use the templates, but will have access to useful extra features if they do - for more information on using Overleaf, and to claim your free 10GB upgrade to Overleaf Pro through the Caltech institutional license, please visit the Caltech portal on Overleaf..

You can download the Overleaf files as zip files to your own computer if you prefer to use them that way. Open up a blank thesis template on the Overleaf site, then click on Project at the top of the screen. A green box labeled “Download as ZIP” will show up in the left column, and you can choose which types of files you want to download.

• LaTeX template zip file - with logo - Updated Mar. 2017  (Download zip file to use template on your own computer)
• LaTeX template zip file - no logo - Updated Mar. 2017  (Download zip file to use template on your own computer)

Word Templates

• Word Template - with logo - Updated Jan. 2016  (works fine on later versions of Word)
• Word Template - no logo - updated Jan. 2016  (works fine on later versions of Word)
• Need help with compiling errors after downloading LaTeX template?
• Quick Guide to LaTeX
• LaTeX Symbols

We also have some FAQs (frequently asked questions) about Overleaf and LaTeX. Below are some of the more popular ones:

• How do I get subsection numbering to work in the Caltech Thesis Latex template?
• Does Zotero work with LaTeX / BibTeX and how does it work?
• What is Overleaf?
• How may I keep using Overleaf after I leave Caltech?

Your thesis file names should include your own name as well as your graduation date.  Please do not use "thesis.pd f" as the file name for your uploaded thesis.

• smith_jane_2012_thesis.pdf ; SmithJane2012thesis.pdf ;
• smith_jane_2012_thesis_ch1.pdf ; SmithJane2012ThesisCh1.pdf ;
• smith_jane_thesis_bibliography.pdf ; SmithJaneThesisBibliography.pdf

Caltech has traditionally required thesis to be in textual form.  In the past few years, however, graduate students and the Graduate Office have considered alternative formats for theses, including in particular multi-media, multi-form and cross-platform.  After consultations, the current guidelines for students preparing theses are as follows:

• If your thesis is textual (think "book"), you must submit the final version in PDF format.  
• If you are a graduate student who is planning to prepare your thesis in an unconventional format, you must talk to the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Author Services/Librarian about it.  If it is approved, your thesis' preliminary pages and first chapter in file must still be textual and in PDF format. 
• We absolutely want your original source files.  Please upload them as zip files, identifying them as "source files" in the Description field. After uploading the file, click on the Show Options link, then add your descriptive statement in the Description field.  Choose "Archival Material" as the Content type.  These files will be permanently embargoed, and not released to public view.
• Supplemental materials are accepted in many file formats.  If you are using a non-standard one, please contact us to make sure we can handle it.  You should consider the use of the CaltechDATA repository as  a safe home for these supplemental files, and include links in the thesis and supplemental files'  records going in both directions.

Many authors have trouble replicating the appearance of their thesis' abstract in the CaltechTHESIS record.  Below are some tips to get you started.  While your abstract may look funny in the user mode, it should display correctly in public mode.  Save your changes as you go along and check the abstract's view in the Preview mode.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call!

• <p>at the beginning of each paragraph
• </p> at the end of each paragraph
• ^...  ex: ⁴, or ¹²³ - for superscripts
• _... - for subscripts
• https://www.elizabethcastro.com/html/extras/entities.html
• Some day-to-day symbols, "&", ">' and "<", are particularly problematic, and you should use the number column display (&#...;) in their place
• For others, you can copy-paste either the entry in the entity displayed column or the number column
• If you need further help, just ask!  We have other helpful web pages at our fingertips, especially for math and astronomy

Examples of Recent Theses with Good Published Contents and Contributions pages

• Bischoff, Tobias (2017)  Dynamics of the Intertropical Convergence Zone.  Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/Z97M05XR.  https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:11122016-111133209
• Ahmed, Tonia Sarah (2018)  Achieving High Stereoselectivity in Ruthenium-Catalyzed Olefin Metathesis Reactions for Organic and Polymer Synthesis.  Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/KCM2-6W92.  https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:05312018-145533563
• Angeles-Albores, David (2019)  A Theory of Genetic Analysis Using Transcriptomic Phenotypes.  Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/JRNS-NS05.  https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:10232018-150005837
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• URL: https://library.caltech.edu/theses

An academic thesis, also known as a dissertation, is a substantial work produced by a graduate student to communicate their research and earn a degree. A thesis will typically include a review of the current state of research in the field of study followed by a central hypothesis to be investigated. The bulk of the thesis will then focus on the methods and results of the research performed, followed by a discussion on how the results add to the field in general. Theses are long, highly structured and include a lot of advanced document elements.

This template is designed for writing books and graduate-level theses and provides numerous examples and documentation to enable complex requirements. The design features a relatively narrow main text column with an adjacent wide margin to house notes, figures, tables, citations and captions.

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Masters/Doctoral Thesis

This template provides a full framework for writing a graduate level thesis. It is carefully structured and separated into multiple parts for easy editing. Included are the following pages/sections: a cover page, declaration of authorship, quotation, abstract, acknowledgements, contents page(s), list of figures, list of tables, abbreviations, physical constants, symbols, dedication, example chapter, example appendix and bibliography.

Classicthesis Typographic Thesis

This template has been designed as a homage to the Elements of Typographic Style. As such, it has an air of efficiency and optimal design. It is suitable for any high-level degree thesis such as for a PhD, Masters or Honors. Sections within the thesis are clearly separated in a consistent way, as are sections within each chapter. The default structure of the thesis proceeds in the following order: title page, dedication, abstract, publications, acknowledgements, contents, list of tables/figures/listings, acronyms, content chapters, appendices, bibliography, colophon and declaration.

Maggi Memoir Thesis

This template uses the memoir document class to beautifully typeset a thesis. It is suitable for any high-level degree thesis such as for a PhD, Masters or Honors. The layout of the content is in a thin format to promote easy reading and the template features advanced specification of margins and trimming. The thesis boasts a professional look which is immediately obvious from the title page itself and carries through the design of the rest of the document. Three custom fonts are used in the template to match the design and beautifully display your content.

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Green Chemistry

Ultra-violet-light driven green oxygen scavenging composite made of pva/nrl for active packaging: an alternative to metallic oxygen scavengers.

Active packaging techniques like oxygen scavengers have gained enough attention from consumers in the past few years. It would be of great advantage if metal-based scavengers were replaced with plant-based sustainable and biodegradable materials. In the present work, plant-based natural rubber latex was explored as a potential oxygen-scavenging material in combination with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to fabricate potentially biodegradable films. PVA and NRL are taken in different ratios for film formation and analyzed for their physical, mechanical, thermal, and moisture barrier properties along with biodegradability, oxygen scavenging capacity, and rate. Apparently, the film with two parts of NRL has exhibited the highest scavenging capacity with a rate of 1045 ml O2/g and 95 ml O2/g. day, at 60 ℃ and 120 s of UV-C exposure time, respectively, and a water contact angle of 65.18°. On the other side, the same film has the lowest tensile strength of 10.36 MPa and didn’t degrade even after 90 days. The addition of two parts of PVA has yielded the highest tensile strength of 24.32 MPa and faster degradation in 60 days. A higher water transmission rate of 24.2 g/m2.day was seen in film with equal parts of PVA and NRL. After oxidation, all the films have a significant color change when compared to the color before oxidation. The films turned light brown from pale yellow and had the highest total color change of 31.27. This change in color can be a visual indication of oxygen scavenging by NRL. These results suggest that fabricated potentially biodegradable PVA and NRL composite films can effectively scavenge oxygen with good mechanical and barrier properties and hence be used in food packaging.

• This article is part of the themed collection: Sustainable Composites

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R. Dakuri, K. Akhila, P. K. Bittu , K. K. Gaikwad and P. K. Maji, Green Chem. , 2024, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D3GC03264G

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