Acknowledgments
Many people have made this work possible, especially my advisor Dr. Steve Cox,
who first introduced me to applied mathematics, and who has been an excellent
mentor, and Dr. Mark Embree, who has been the most influential in shaping my career
through our interaction both in and out of the classroom. I also thank my committee
members Dr. Dan Sorensen, Dr. Athanasios Antoulas, and Dr. Harel Shouval. Each
have contributed to different aspects of modeling, algorithms, and applications that
I have used in this thesis, and it has been a pleasure to learn from them.
I also thank our department secretary Daria Lawrence for her invaluable help with
making sure I did everything on time and in the right way. She also has contributed
much candy to my insatiable appetite.
I am grateful as well to our department staff Brenda Aune, Ivy Gonzales, Fran
Moshiri, and Jennifer Trevino for their assistance with reimbursements, scheduling,
and other departmental matters. They have also donated bags of ice for my numerous
minor athletic injuries.
Also, I thank Dr. Jan Hewitt for sharpening my writing and presentation skills in
an unrelenting, brutally honest, and ultimately kind way.
Additionally, I would not have made it out sane had it not been for the friendships
Γve had. To Marco Enriquez and Jay Raol, thanks for a great 5 years together; we
made it! To Katie Ward, Ryan Nong, Jing Ma, Tommy Binford, Sean Hardesty,
Joe Young, and Toni Tullius, you have all made my time in the CAAM department