The development of the project was a result of assistance from many people. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Peter Lauer, my supervisor, for his patient guidance, his brilliant ideas and continuous encouragement. The trait I admired most about Dr. Lauer, is that he was never too busy when I needed him.
Dr. Ryszard Janicki, took time to provide me with some solutions and pointed me in the right direction.
I am grateful to Mr. Daniel Trottier for giving me technical support and general troubleshooting.
None of this work would have been possible without the perseverance, encouragement and understanding of my loving wife, Annie Fang SITU. I am very grateful to her for the moral support.