[Skip to Content]

Conference Templates

Please use this General Abstract Template for your submission to the general abstract category as well as PhD, MS and BS competitions.

Please use this  Undergrad Design Template for your submission to the Undergrad Design Competition Only.

Instructions

The instructions below present the specifications for formatting the elements of the abstract.  All submissions must follow these guidelines.  

  • Use the provided abstract template document in Microsoft Word format, and when finished, save it as a PDF. (Ensure the fonts on your PDF are embedded.)
  • Required elements:  Title, Authors, Affiliations, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, References.
  • Include all elements of the paper in one document.  All artwork, tables, and graphs must be correctly inserted into the final paper.   Detailed instructions are found below.

General Format

  • Text Format: 2 columns, 8.5 in. x 11 in.; each column should be approx. 3.5 in. wide
  • Margins: 0.5 in. (top: to paper header, bottom: from copyright footer, sides)

Conference Name Box:  Top-right of 1st page

  • Do not change or remove the Conference Name Box.
  • 9 pt. Helvetica, flush right, on 1st page only
  • 12 pt. line spacing
  • Spacing: 1/2 inch from paper edge

Paper Title

  • 12 pt. bold Arial, uppercase, with units of measure or other specialty lowercase terms remaining as such.  
  • Centered on full width of page
  • Spacing: 3 lines separate paper number from title; at least 2 lines separate title from authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Each author entered into the submission system should appear in your abstract, and vice versa.
  • Author name: First name, Middle initial, and Last name (affiliation number)
  • Names: 10 pt. bold Arial, upper and lower case letters (title case), centered under the title
  • Affiliations: 10 pt. Arial, title case, single spaced, centered under author names. Affiliations should be numbered and include City, State, and Country. One affiliation per line.
  • Spacing: 2 lines separate the author and affiliation lines; at least 3 lines separate the affiliations from the abstract body

Headings and Subheadings

  • 10 pt. bold Times New Roman 
  • 1st level (INTRODUCTION, METHODS, etc.): uppercase, flush left, on own line
  • 2nd level; title case, indented, inline with text

Body Text:

·         9 or 10 pt. Times New Roman, justified, single spaced

·         Full justification

·         Single line spacing

Footnotes, Headers, Footers, Page Numbers

  • Do not add these items.   These will be added when the final program book is created.

Equations

  • Equations should be set apart from the body text and centered.
  • Equations should be numbered consecutively, using numerals enclosed in parentheses and positioned flush right.

Figures

  • Refers to images, graphs, and line drawings.
  • Number figures consecutively; provide a caption for each figure.
  • Caption: 9 pt. bold Times New Roman, centered below figure
  • Spacing: clearly separate figure and caption from text.
  • Position:  within body of paper, after first reference to figure
  • Size:  large enough to be clear at 100% zoom
  • Line weights should be 0.5-1.5 pt for best reproducibility.
  • Figures should be cropped to remove any unnecessary white space around the image and should not include borders.
  • Carefully check figure resolution, as poor quality may affect reviewer scores. Low resolution will result in jagged lines and pixilated images, whereas higher resolution will result in unnecessarily large files.

Tables

  • Number tables consecutively; provide a caption for each table.
  • Caption: 9 pt. bold Times New Roman, centered above table
  • Position:  within body of paper, after first reference to table
  • Spacing: clearly separate table and caption from text.
  • Size:  large enough to be clear at 100% zoom