I would like to acknowledge my principal thesis advisor, Gio Wiederhold, because without his help this thesis would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my reading committee members: David Luckham, Eric Roberts, and Dorothea Beringer. A special thanks goes to Catherine Tornabene, Gary Payne, and Jie Wang for their helpful suggestions.
I would also like to thank my wife, Sandy, for the loving and understanding support given to me while I pursued my educational studies. I would also like to acknowledge my powerful daughters, Jennifer, Christy, and Katy, who almost graduated from college before their father.