\documentclass{article}

\usepackage[pdftex]{graphicx}
\usepackage{gensymb}
\usepackage{xcolor}
\usepackage{scrextend}
\usepackage{pdfpages}
\graphicspath{ {./images/} }
\usepackage{subfigure}
\usepackage[scriptsize]{caption}   
\usepackage{changepage} 
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage{multicol}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage{geometry}
\hypersetup{
    colorlinks = false,
    linkbordercolor = {white}
    }
    
\newcommand{\fillin}[1]{  
   {\bf \ttfamily \color{orange} .... \textsc{#1} ....}
   }

   
\newcommand{\orange}[1]{
   {\color{orange}#1}
   }
   
\newcommand{\todo}[1]{
   {\noindent \bf \large \ttfamily \color{red}::::::::::::::::::::::
    {{\color{black} \\ #1} \\ :::::::::::::::::::::: }}
   }


\newcommand{\curious}[1]{
   {\bf color{green}#1}
   }   
     
        
\newcommand{\good}[1]{
   {\bf\color{red}#1}
   }

\newcommand{\bad}[1]{
   {\bf\color{blue}#1}
   }
   

\newcommand{\blockquote}[1]{
  {\begin{addmargin}[3em]{2em}\vspace{.2cm} \ttfamily #1 \vspace{.2cm} \end{addmargin}}
  }   

\newcommand{\define}[2]{
   {\item{\small {\bf #1}:\hspace{.75cm} #2}}
   }

\newcommand{\rf}[1]{
   {Fig. (\ref{#1})}
   }  
   
   
\begin{document}
\noindent

\begin{center}

\includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{"%(logopath)s"}~\\[1cm]

\textsc{\LARGE The George Washington University\vspace{.2cm}
Physics Department}\\[.4cm]

{\large \today}
\vspace{.5cm}

\hrule \vspace{.4cm}
{ \huge \bfseries  %(title)s \\[0.2cm] }
\hrule \vspace{1.5cm}

\begin{minipage}{0.4\textwidth}
\begin{flushleft} \large
\emph{Author:}\\
%(authorfirstname)s \textsc{%(authorlastname)s\footnotemark[1]}
\end{flushleft}
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{0.4\textwidth}
\begin{flushright} \large
\emph{Advisor:} \\
Dr.~Mark \textsc{Reeves\footnotemark[2]}
\end{flushright}
\end{minipage}
\end{center}

\vspace{.4cm}

\abstract{\fillin{Abstract goes here}}

\vfill
{\noindent {\bf Contributors:} \textsc{Zhaowen Liu, Abel Rodriguez} }

\footnotetext[1]{%(email)s}
\footnotetext[2]{reevesme@gwu.edu}

\newpage

\tableofcontents

\newpage

%(body)s

\vspace{.65cm}
\appendix
{\huge \bf \noindent APPENDIX}
\section{Acronyms and Terminology} 
\vspace{.1cm}

\begin{itemize}[align=left]
\define{TMSDE}{\href{http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/fluka/06666?lang=en&region=US} {(3-Trimethoxysilylpropyl)-diethylenetriamine}}

\define{MPTMS}{\href{http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/175617?lang=en&region=US}{(3-Mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane}}

\define{AuNP}{Gold nanoparticle}

\define{BSA}{Bovine Serum Albumin}

\define{DTSSP}{\href{http://www.piercenet.com/product/dsp-lomants-reagent}{Water soluble DSP/Lomant's regagent}}

\define{PBS}{Phosphate Buffered Saline- 0.01M pH 7.4 from Sigma Aldrich powder packet.}

\end{itemize}

\end{document}