POINT PROCESS MONTE CARLO FILTERING FOR BRAIN MACHINE INTERFACES By

My deepest gratitude goes to my advisor Dr. Jose C. Principe because of his guidance, support, critiques and sense of humor. I feel blessed to be one of his students. Inspired by his suggestions, encouraged by his rigorous comments, relaxed by his jokes, touched by his caring, I was brought along into the fabulous world of research. It is Dr. Principe who taught me to how to think as a researcher. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Justin C. Sanchez, Dr. John G. Harris, Dr. Dapeng Wu, (who are members of my committee), and Antonio Paiva, for their suggestions and help in my research. I am also grateful to Aysegul Gunduz, John DiGiovanna, Shalom Darmanjian, Ruijiang Li, Weifeng Liu, Dr. Rui Yan, Dr. Jianwu Xu, and Dr. Dongming Xu for their incredible supports and caring. I also would like to express gratitude to Julie Veal, who helps me with my English writing. Last but not least, I am indebted to my mother, my father and my fiancé, for their endles