First of all, I would like to thank my senior supervisor Prof. Steve DiPaola for adopting me at a point where I was thinking of giving up on my PhD adventure in Canada and restoring my faith in academia again. His vision and enthusiasm has always inspired me to develop my ideas and pushed me further than I thought I could go. Also my supervisor Prof. Fred Popowich for his guidance, encouragement, support, and his hard questions which made me think about my research from different perspectives.I would also like to thank my friends and lab-mates at SIAT and iVizLab. Thank you Michael, Ulysses, Procheta, and our undergrads Ioana and Marie, for their help during the project.And my partner in academic misery, Burcu. Your dark humor and friendship have been priceless. I hope life will throw us and Burçin into each other's direction much more often.My little ball of happiness, Aynur, I am glad that I decided to be roommates with a crazy person. Let's do more projects together and pretend we are mature.Last but not least, my family. Anniş and babiş. I love you. Thank you for encouraging me in all the steps I took in my life. It was your unconditional trust that led me believe in myself and love that lifted my spirits up. Abiş, I am so lucky that my best friend and mentor is my brother. I miss your company and our laughs the most. And Sergey. The best thing about these four years was meeting you. You made everything about this journey amazingly better. I can't wait to discover more in life with you.