This is a great opportunity for me to express my appreciation to the benefit I gleaned during my graduate school career. I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Hien Nguyen who has given me the wonderful opportunity to work in his research group. He gave me much independence as well as guidance on research. I would like to thank my research committee, Professor David Weimer, Professor Louis Messerle, Professor Chris Pigge and Professor Horacio Olivo for their helpful comments and discussions. Thanks go to group members-Ravi aka Gandhi,