To my parents Medine & Emin Acikgoz and to my dear husband Sermet iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing a PhD is truly a long journey with many ups and downs and if it was not for the great people surrounding me, I wouldn’t have been able to conclude this endeavor. I must first express my gratitude toward my advisor Dr. Carlo Bottasso. His enthusiasm, hard work and brilliant mind have set an example which I wish to match someday. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him. He was considerate and very supportive all along, I really appreciate all he has done for me both professionally and personally. I would like to thank to my committee members Dr. Lakshmi Sankar, Dr. Stephen Ruffin, Dr. Luca Dieci and Dr. Zvi Rusak for their time, effort and enlightening suggestions which were important in improving the quality of this research. I am grateful to Dr. Jeff Jagoda for supporting me through my graduate studies and financial problems. My special thanks goto Dr. Sankar whose door was always open when I needed his valuable advises. His courteous personality encouraged me to ask his help during my hard times at Georgia Tech. I would also like to thank to my previous lab mates who are scattered all around the

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