ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank many people, without whom this work would have been much more difficult. At the top of the list, of course, is Peter Parker. I cannot imagine having a more supportive or effective mentor. Beyond his extensive knowledge of the field, Peter’s great strength as an advisor is his ability to accomodate the different working styles of those he supervises. I believe this is something that cannot be taught.

I am very grateful to the succession of post-doctoral researchers who have worked in our research group for all of their help and guidance. Ken Swartz eased my transition into the life of a graduate researcher. The focal plane detector works today largely because of his efforts. By creating Jam, he gave me the chance to feed the code-hacker monkey that lives on my back and do important work for our research at the same time. After he left to work in industry, he allowed me to appreciate what our west coast has to offer by hosting a couple of my vacations. William Bradfield-Handler arrived at Yale with a freshly minted Ph.D. from the U.K. He proceeded to kick-start the “coincidence project” and organized all the major hardware purchasing and design. He also made certain that we all had fun while we were doing our work. It is because of him that I learned how to get properly drunk and party all night (well, most of it, anyway) in Edinburgh. Jac Caggiano was Will’s successor, and was no less valuable in making sure that my experiment was pulled off succsessfully. He has definitely taught me patience in the face of electronics debugging, and also the importance of using appropriate tools for data analysis. I’ll miss his ability to produce an appropriate quote from “The Simpsons” for any situation.

Of course, I am indebted to all the graduate students who have worked with me. As Peter has often stated, we all teach each other as much as any faculty member. For that, and for their hard work on experiments (especially the night shifts), I am grateful to Alan Chen, Rachel Lewis and Anuj Parikh. I don’t know what’s going to happen to social life in the lab when Rachel leaves.

The support staff of WNSL are invaluable. Thomas Barker, Richard Wagner and Craig Miller all created portions of the physical and electronic infrastructure of YLSA. Mary Anne Schulz, Karen Defelice and their assistants have made sure that work-related travel, purchasing and other day-to-day concerns are taken care of smoothly and professionally.

Dr. James Perlotto at the university health plan has been a very important person in my life here. When I arrived, I was in very poor health, with asthma that was out of control. Dr. Perlotto’s aggressive coordination of my health care is the reason I’m as healthy as I am today. He literally helped me survive graduate school.

I am very lucky to have a family that has supported me all the way through this process. My Connecticut cousins, William Kraus, Lynne Yeannakis, James Kraus, Julie Kraus, Sylvia Sanders and Alice Hobolth (“Grammy”) have provided me with a family and support network in New Haven. Uncountable moral and financial support for my education has come from my parents, Howard and Georgia Visser, as well as from my uncle, Richard Hilliker. My sister, Heather, has been my good friend an my closest confidant throughout graduate school, despite our 800-mile separation. Finally, I am profoundly grateful to my grandfather, Fred Froman, whose generosity towards his grandchildren in his estate allowed me to pursue my education without ever having to worry about where the tuition money was going to come from.