ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


 Special thanks are given to John J. Hren, my mentor

and advisor. I am especially grateful that he is as

stubborn as I. The assistance of Scott Walck, my

colleague and friend, in handling the logistics and

mechanics of my dissertation, is especially appreciated.

The continued support of Dr. E. Aigeltinger is sincerely

acknowledged. I am also grateful to Drs. Kenik, Bentley,

Lehman, and Carpenter for their generous assistance during

my visits to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For the

perserverance and persistence of my wife, Janice, I am

most endebted.

 I am also indebted to Pratt and Whitney Government

Products Division, West Palm Beach, for providing the

necessary funding to see this project through to

completion, to the SHARE programs at ORNL for the generous

use of their instruments and expertise, and to the

Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the

University of Florida for providing the education,

training, and constant devotion to excellence in research

that have directed my career and scientific character.