Cumming, and Dr. Etienne) for the unconditional support for the past few years. This dissertation truly combined all the knowledge I have learned from you, and I cannot imagine completing the study without your help. Second, I want to especially thank Dr. Verlinden for his support as a division director to support my degree. Without his help, there would have been more struggles on this road. Third, I want to thank Dr. Shen for his help when I needed the most. Last but not the least, I want to thank all of my peers that made this journey possible, especially my family and friends back in Taiwan, my partner Chun-Wei, and my good old friend Yu-Hung. Doing Ph.D. is a life-changing decision, and I am glad to have you for the past four years. v TABLE OF CONTENTS