Acknowledgments This thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of many people from the MIT community and beyond. First and foremost I would like to o↵er my sincere thanks to Prof. John Heywood for his guidance and support these past two years as my advisor. I am humbled by his immense knowledge, talent and kindness. I would like to thank my fellow students from the Sloan Automotive Laboratory: DonMacKenzie,FernandodeSisternes,LynetteCheah,ValerieKarplus,DavidKeith, Irene Berry, Eriko Nishimura and Mike Khusid. My work has built upon much of their own and has been improved greatly by their feedback. Many thanks also to Prof. Randy Kirchain, Rich Roth and Elisa Alonso from the Materials Systems Laboratory for their contributions. Iwouldalsoliketothankthesta↵ of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Volpe Center for their information and feedback. Thefaculty and sta↵ of the Engineering Systems Division and the Technology and Policy Program have been a great help at every step. It has been a pleasure to learn from their vast experience these past two years. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Irma, for her unwavering support and encouragement. She is a pillar of strength and I am forever indebted for the sacrifices she has made in accompanying me to graduate school. This work has been sponsored by Ford Motor Company and the MIT Portugal Program. 5
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