| Acknowledgments (2007) | |||||||||||||
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| iii Although I am listed as the author of this thesis, many other people should share the credit for its production. First and foremost I thank my advisor, Professor Jason Hickey, who has provided me with a great deal of support, guidance and instruction throughout my time at Caltech. This is joint work with him and my fellow researchers: Aleksey Nogin and Alexei Kopylov, from discussions with whom I benefited a lot. I would also like to thank the members of our group, Cristian Tapus, Nathan Gray, Jerome White, and David Goblet, for their help and friendship. I greatly appreciate the efforts of my thesis committee (Professors Jason Hickey, Alain Martin, Steven Low, and Dr. Rajeev Joshi). Without the always ready help from various Caltech personnel, my life during the past six years would be painful. I specially thank Jeannie and Divina from the Health Center, and Natalie, Edith, and Icy from the Graduate Office. I also owe much gratitude to my friends, most notably Zhe Wu, Cong Zhang, and Ling Zhou, for the happiness they brought and encouragement they never hesitated | |||||||||||||
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