Cell Mapping: Tracking Cell Splits and Merges
in Large-Scale Evolving Structures

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Acknowedgments

I first want to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Kay Robbins, Dr. Clinton Jeffery, and Dr. Bruce Rosen. Dr. Jeffery's suggested improvements insured that I produced the best result possible in this work as well as in future projects. Dr. Rosen helped me gain perspective on the true motivation for this project. I want to especially thank Dr. Robbins for the tremendous efforts she has done on my behalf. She was always available for guidance and gentle pushes in the right direction. I really enjoyed our wide ranging discussions over the course of the project's development.

I couldn't have completed this program of study without the support and sacrifice of my husband, Michael. His help was above and beyond the call of duty and no one could have a more loyal spouse than I. He probably will never know how much I appreciate all of the extra work he did for me, all while having to put his full effort into his own stress-filled job. I also appreciate the time he took to provide feedback on this work.

I also want to thank the Opportunity Plan, Incorporated, of Canyon, Texas, and in particular Cathryn Wright, who provided me with a generous academic scholarship. This assistance proves that no matter how long someone has been away from home, she is still remembered.

I finally want to recognize the hard work done by Michael Villafana and Thu Hang Tran in the preparation of the image data bases used in this project. Their efforts proved invaluable, especially with several short-notice requests for new images.

This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research under contract N00014-K-0613. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the San Antonio Area Foundataion.