ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my thanks to all the people who have helped me and supported me in my

work.

My supervisors, Dr. Michiel van de Panne and Dr. Eugene Fiume, have always been

wonderfully approachable and ever helpful in their efforts to guide me.

In particular, Michiel's

boundless enthusiasm never failed to motivate me in tough times (or in good times) and Eugene's

ability to step back and view the greater context of a problem has always impressed and inspired

me - I hope that one day I'll develop similar skills.

To my better half, Anastasia Cheetham, who

spent many a late night in the lab, keeping me company and helping me to maintain my sanity

when pressured by deadlines, thank you a thousand fold for everything!

You'll never know how

much your support and patience has meant. Finally, I'd like to thank the members of my defense

committee, Dr. Bruce Francis, Dr. James Stewart and Dr. Jonathan Rose for their careful reading

of my thesis on such short notice and for their constructive questions and comments.

I would also like to thank the ITRC and NSERC. Without their funding, this work (and the DGP

lab in which it was done) might not exist.

iii