OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for all people who have helped and inspired me throughout my Ph.D. study. I am heartily thankful to my adviser, Prof. Volkan Isler, for giving me the oppor-tunity to pursue my Ph.D. degree with him. His inspiration and endless support from the first day enabled me to successfully finish this thesis. I would like to thank my committee members Prof. Janardan, Prof. Roumeliotis and Prof. Santosa for their invaluable feedbacks. My special thanks go to Prof. Janardan. It has been a privilege working with him. I would also like to thank Georganne Tolaas for solving administrative issues lightning-fast for me. It would be impossible to finish this thesis without financial support. I am indebte