%  acknow.tex

\section*{Acknowledgements}

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my advisor, Daqing Hou, who has guided me throughout the project
and always helped me stay focused. I also like to thank the committee members Christino Tamon, Robert A. Meyer for their
comments and corrections. I am grateful to my parents, room mates (Pravin Shukla, Pavan Vimal, Punith),
friends (Kalyan, Anshuman) for their love and support during the project. 
