First and foremost I would like to thank my advisor, Prof. João Bosco, for the patience, enthusiasm and guidance during both the masterŠs program and the previous experiences as an undergraduate research assistant. He has not only unwaveringly supported my research and guided me into the right direction when needed, but also gave me freedom to pursue various research projects. His support and my time as an undergraduate research student make up one of the main reasons why I decided to pursue an academic career in the Ąrst place.I would also like to thank the masterŠs thesis committee members, Prof. Geromel and Prof. Costa, for the careful reading of this rather lengthy work. Another special thanks to Prof. Geromel for his assistance with the graduate school application process.A sincere thanks to Prof. Tamer Başar and the Coordinated Science Lab of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for hosting me as a visiting student and accommodating me in his research group; and to Prof. Serdar Yüksel and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of QueenŠs University at Kingston, Canada, for the shortterm visit and insightful discussions amid the Canadian winter.A special thanks to my family and friends, in particular my parents, José Nilton (in Memoriam) and Valdelice, and my siblings, Karoliny and Matheus, for the constant support through all these years. I would also like to thank my colleagues at the Department of Systems and Energy, for the support and fruitful discussions; as well as the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the University of Campinas, where I spent a good many years as an undergraduate and masterŠs student.