ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am deeply grateful to all people who have helped and inspired me during my doctoral study in Georgia Tech. First of all, I would like to thank my advisors, Dr Jim Dai and Dr Ton Dieker. Their passion, knowledge, and rigorous attitude toward research have deeply influ-enced me. They have been great mentors, providing me with tremendous support, encouragement and motivation. I am honored to have both of them as my advisors, and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to work with them on exciting problems