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\thanks{ACKNOWLEDGMENTS}

I am extremely grateful to my advisors, Dr. Lyle N. Long and Dr. Paul
E. Plassmann for all their help and guidance during the course of my
graduate studies at Penn State. I am especially thankful to Dr. Long
for providing a wonderful work environment here at the IHPCA. The
autonomy and the resources provided to me have always been unmatched. I
have the highest appreciation for the manner in which he has encouraged
and supported me at all times. I am equally indebted to Dr. Plassmann
for his unflinching confidence in me and for all the valuable time he
spared from his busy schedule for the innumerable discussions we
had. His wisdom and humour have always been a source of
motivation and amazement for me. Together, they have been the most
wonderful advising team a graduate student could hope for. Without their
constant support, motivation and useful suggestions, this project would
never have taken its present shape.

I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Rajeev Sharma, Dr. Padma
Raghavan, and Dr. Mark D. Maughmer for their time to review my thesis.
I would like to thank the NSF for the equipment grant EIA--9977526, and
the Rotorcraft Center of Excellence (RCOE) at Penn State, for providing
the financial support for this work. I would like to
thank Zach Vanderveen for his help in the development of the
graphical interface used in this work.
I would also like to thank my
colleagues, Abraham Mathew, Frederic J. Souliez, LTC Robert Hansen,
Nilay Sezer-Uzol, and Kelly Corfeld for creating a wonderful work
atmosphere. I also thank my friends (and long-time roommates), Anurag
Agarwal and Anupam Sharma, for making my stay at Penn State one of the
most enjoyable and memorable experiences of my life. I would like
to make a special mention of my friend, the late Vernon Mendanha, whose
immortal words always have and always will be the guiding force in my
life.

Finally, words cannot describe the love, support, advice and
encouragement that I have received from my family. My wife, Sushmita,
has been always been a constant source of energy in my life. I thank
her for her unfailing and loving support and for her boundless patience
during the course of this work. As for my parents, their love, support
and motivation have been the very backbone of my existence. All that I
have achieved today is a result of the innumerable silent sacrifices
they have made over the past decades. 

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{\centerline {\it Dedicated to my parents.} } 
