How to Center Three Authors in the IEEEconf LaTeX Class

To center three authors in an ieeeconf title block, format the author area as three equal-width columns and center the contents of each column. Put this layout inside the class’s usual \author{...} command; \maketitle then places it with the title.

This is different from centering a single line of three names: separate columns let each author have their own affiliation, while keeping the overall group centered. The example below is a complete document using the ieeeconf class.

A three-author layout

\documentclass[letterpaper,10pt,conference]{ieeeconf}

\title{A Sample Conference Paper}
\author{
  \begin{tabular}{ccc}
    \begin{minipage}[t]{0.30\textwidth}\centering
      Alice Author\\
      Example University\\
      alice@example.edu
    \end{minipage}
    &
    \begin{minipage}[t]{0.30\textwidth}\centering
      Bob Researcher\\
      Example Institute\\
      bob@example.edu
    \end{minipage}
    &
    \begin{minipage}[t]{0.30\textwidth}\centering
      Casey Scientist\\
      Sample University\\
      casey@example.edu
    \end{minipage}
  \end{tabular}
}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\section{Introduction}
This is a sample paper.

\end{document}

The tabular creates three side-by-side cells. Each minipage has the same width, and \centering centers the name and affiliation within that cell. The three widths total 90% of the text width, leaving room for the small spaces LaTeX inserts between table columns. The [t] option aligns the tops of the author blocks if their contents take different numbers of lines.

The class file must be installed for this example to compile. Conference templates sometimes customize the title and author commands; if your provided template includes a specific author-block format, retain its required commands and adapt the column contents rather than replacing the class’s title machinery.

If you only need one line of names

If the authors share one affiliation and you do not need separate blocks, a single centered line is simpler:

\author{Alice Author, Bob Researcher, and Casey Scientist}

The title layout supplied by ieeeconf normally centers the author field. If your output does not, first check that you are using the expected class and that the document calls \maketitle; avoid adding \centering elsewhere in the document, where it may affect unrelated content.

Some LaTeX classes use \and to separate multiple author blocks. Whether that is appropriate depends on the class’s definition of \author and its conference template. The explicit tabular layout above does not rely on \and being defined to produce the arrangement you want.

Adjusting the layout

If an affiliation is too long, allow it to wrap within its column or shorten the displayed text. You can make the columns wider by increasing 0.30\textwidth, but keep their combined widths plus intercolumn spacing below the available line width. For example, three columns of 0.32\textwidth use 96% of the text width before table spacing, so they may be too wide.

If the conference requires two authors on the first row and one centered underneath, use two rows in the table and leave the unused outer cells of the second row empty. That is a different layout from three authors in one centered row, and the conference’s formatting requirements should decide which to use.

Common mistakes

• Putting \centering outside the author field: This can center subsequent document material rather than the author block. Put it inside each minipage or use the class’s author formatting.
• Using unequal column widths by accident: Unequal cells can make the names look unevenly spaced. Use matching widths unless the design intentionally calls for different-size blocks.
• Adding manual horizontal spaces: Commands such as \hspace can shift the group or make it extend beyond the text area. Equal columns are easier to maintain.
• Assuming every conference class behaves the same: ieeeconf, IEEEtran, and publisher-specific classes can define different author layouts. Follow the template for the class you actually compile with.

After compiling, inspect the title area at the final page size. Long names, email addresses, and affiliations can wrap differently than expected, so adjust the minipage width or line breaks if needed.