First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Ed for his guidance and support both as my advisor and close friend. In the very unique environment of MIT, it has been very helpful to have your wholehearted support. I would also like to thank my doctoral committee for their help during my doctoral career, especially my advisor on the MACE project Dave Miller, who seemed to know when a jump start was needed. I would like to express my gratitude to the people of SERC and the MACE team, especially Simon and Roger for their technical and thoughtful discussions. And finally I would like to give a special thanks and dedication of this work to my family: Mom, Dad, Jen, Jeff, and the newest member, my best friend and love, Diana. Your support over the years has been unwavering, and it has allowed me to finish my PhD with some form of sanity still in tact. Thank you for being there every day.