Environmental Impact Approved by

First and foremost I would like to thank God for giving me both the opportunity and the ability to complete this research. I would like to thank Dr. Matthew Campbell for all of the guidance and support that he has given me over the course of this project. I did not have a research supervising professor when I first arrived at The University of Texas at Austin as a graduate student in 2007 and Dr. Campbell recruited me to work in his lab group while I was enrolled in his graduate-level design optimization course during my first semester. He did his best to match my interests with his field of expertise and the result has been a two-year experience that I have found to be highly rewarding. The work that I have done under Dr. Campbell has been some of the most enjoyable of my entire, nineteen-year academic journey and I would like to express my gratitude to him for steering my work towards its conclusion. I would like to thank Dr. Richard Crawford for his contributions as the second reader of my thesis. I would like to thank my fellow lab mates in the Automated Design Laboratory (ADLab) for their support over the past two years. I would also like to thank the National Science Foundation for the funding of this research through grant DMII-0448806. v I would like to convey my gratitude to Carol Grosvenor for her help with the photography of the products used in my research. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my family Vincent, Pamela, Regina and Jeremy. I consider the completion of my thesis to be a great personal accomplishment and I would not have come anywhere close to fulfilling this goal without their immeasurable help and support throughout my life

Your memory will always be with me

Without your love and support this would not have been possible iii Acknowledgements The completion of this dissertation was only possible with the support and contributions of many people. I would like to begin by thanking my husband, Blaine, for standing behind me and for believing that I would finish this dissertation. Without his love, support and understanding, this dissertation would not be. I would like to thank my daughter Joei, for not feeling neglected when I did not have time to do those “girly ” things with her. I would also like to thank my mother, Jessie H. Judson, for instilling in me the importance of a good education and making me believe that the world was mine to conquer. Behind the scenes were my friends and family who were always there for me during my doctoral studies. I am beholden to you all for your fellowship, reassurance, and support. I would like to thank the family who gave the gift of life on February 7, 1998. Without their sacrifice and thoughtfulness, I would not have been able to enjoy the things that life has to bring nor complete this research. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Special thanks to Dr. Doris L. Carver, my advisor, for her generous support, guidance, and patience an