| 31 |
|
\end{abstract} |
| 32 |
|
|
| 33 |
|
\begin{dedication} |
| 34 |
+ |
To my wife, for her understanding and support throughout this work. |
| 35 |
|
\end{dedication} |
| 36 |
|
|
| 37 |
|
\tableofcontents |
| 39 |
|
\listoftables |
| 40 |
|
|
| 41 |
|
\begin{acknowledge} |
| 42 |
+ |
I would to thank my advisor, J. Daniel Gezelter, for the guidance, |
| 43 |
+ |
perspective, and direction he provided during this work. He is a great |
| 44 |
+ |
teacher and helped fuel my desire to learn. I would also like to thank |
| 45 |
+ |
my fellow group members - Dr.~Matthew A.~Meineke, Dr.~Teng Lin, |
| 46 |
+ |
Charles F.~Vardeman~II, Kyle Daily, Xiuquan Sun, Yang Zheng, Kyle |
| 47 |
+ |
S.~Haygarth, Patrick Conforti, Megan Sprague, and Dan Combest for |
| 48 |
+ |
helpful comments and suggestions along the way. I would also like to |
| 49 |
+ |
thank Christopher Harrison and Dr. Steven Corcelli for additional |
| 50 |
+ |
discussions and comments. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, |
| 51 |
+ |
Edward P.~Fennell and Rosalie M.~Fennell, for providing the |
| 52 |
+ |
opprotunities and encouragement that allowed me to pursue my |
| 53 |
+ |
interests, and I would like to thank my wife, Kelley, for her |
| 54 |
+ |
unwaivering support. |
| 55 |
|
\end{acknowledge} |
| 56 |
|
|
| 57 |
|
\mainmatter |
