PtBA, PS-b-PAA, and PB-b-PEO proj ects, and for helping me in j oining the graduate program of

the University of Florida.

 At the University of Florida, special thanks go to the polymer floor and the Chemistry

Department staff, most notably Lorraine Williams, Sara Klossner, and Lori Clark for their

patience in answering my various questions. I want to show my gratitude to the three professors

of the Butler Polymer Laboratory, Prof. Duran, Prof. Wagener, and Prof. Reynolds, for putting a

lot of effort in providing the polymer floor members with a superior work environment to

conduct research in polymer chemistry. I want to thank all my co-workers from the Duran group

and from the George and Josephine Butler polymer floor. Special thanks need to go to Rachid

Matmour, who made the time spent in the lab really enjoyable. It was a pleasure working with

him, often in a hilarious atmosphere, on several challenging research projects. Other group

members to whom I owe extra thanks for their help along the way are Dr. Aleksa Jovanovic, Dr.

Jennifer Logan, Jorge Chavez, Sophie Bernard, Brian Dorvel, Rita El-Khouri, Kristina

Denoncourt, and Claire Mathieu.

 Finally, I would like to thank all the friends I have had the chance to meet and interact with

inside or outside the Chemistry Department, especially Benoit Lauly, Christophe Grenier, Pierre

Beaujuge, and Changhwan Ko who made my days in Gainesville very enj oyable.