I'm writing a thesis at bachelor level, and in one place where I describe some theory, it feels appropriate to name the author whose book (actually PhD thesis) I use as a major source.

Normally when I cite, using the IEEE system, I just write something like this:

In the case of binary classifications, the softmax activation function is not efficient [1].

But, as I said, if something is so crucial for a large part of the entire work, it feels like I should mention the surname of the author who contributed greatly in the area I'm writing about. So, should I do this? If so, how do I write that an entire section is based on a book (actually a PhD thesis) written by some person?

Would it be correct to write like this:

Based on X [1], this section describes...,

where X is the surname of the author.

Or does it need to be written more clearly, like this:

Based on the PhD thesis by X [1], ...