I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for all involved in my academic development and contributing to the development of this thesis. First and foremost, I am thankful to my supervisor, Dr. Terry X. Yan, for his priceless time, effort and patience towards my academic development and completion of this thesis.

I would also like to mention Dr. Serdar Celik who was an important figure for me during my masters. I had a chance to take his courses and had chance to assist him as teaching assistant and ended up learning a lot from him during these times.

Also, Dr. Michael Denn, who helped me to start the master’s program and answered all my endless questions with patience and helped me to develop deeper understanding in topics related to aerodynamics.

Finally, I would like to thank My mother, Elif Neslihan Dogan, and father, Battal Dogan, who have supported me since the primary school and was always there to help me when I needed them. I would not be able to come this far and write this thesis without their amazing support.