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%       Acknowledgements
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\chapter*{Acknowledgements}
%\acknowledgements{How I got here}
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From the first time someone looked at the material world and asked, ``I think there 
is something in there, something smaller, more fundamental" to the intricate and 
challenging work being done now with concepts and objects that cannot even be seen with 
the most powerful optics, the field has evolved and changed. And I am so very grateful 
to have been a part of that evolution.

I am also very fortunate to have been a part of this wonderful family here at OU. Their 
support has gone above and beyond anything anticipated or even hoped for by someone 
embarking on this life changing journey. I would like to especially like to thank Prof.
Chung Kao, my advisor, who saw this confused but curious undergrad one summer about to enter 
into the crazy and sometimes stressful life of grad school and took him under his wing 
and helped mold him into the physicist, teacher, and person I am today. 

I would also like to thank all of my committee members, Prof. Ron Kantowski, Prof. Howie 
Baer, Prof. Ian Sellers, Dean Keri Kornelson, and James Hawthorne for their support and 
interest in what I was researching. Their patience and expertise while trying to get 
everything finished up and frustratingly helpful leading questions to help me better 
understand the majesty behind some of the work I was doing. I am very fortunate to have 
been able to work with each and every one of them.

My experiences here and the people I met and interacted with encompass an entire 
experience that goes far beyond research and is something I think is unique within our 
department. I would like to first thank all of the physics graduate students past and 
present for not only their direct interactions with me but also for all they have done 
to make this department into the family community it is. Each one of us leaves a legacy 
in the form of research but also in the form of how we shape the department, the classes 
we teach, and the overall community of the university.

For me, personally, I would also like to single out Baris Altunkaynak, Mike Savoy, Dylan Frizell, 
Hasan Serce, Hasib Ahmed, Scarlet Norberg, Othmane Rifki, Ben Pearson, David and Callie Bertsche, 
and Dan Mickelson. In addition to the broader physics community these individuals make up 
most of my core High Energy family and could always be counted on for helpful discussions 
of particle physics. High energy physicists are a unique bunch and there are some symmetries 
that get broken once you leave our local bit of phase space that don't quite translate to 
the other fields. I also want to sincerely think my newest brother, Rishabh Jain, for not 
only his helpful discussions and afternoon coffee breaks but for also being such an important, 
vibrant, and intelligent member of our research group. If I am to leave this work in anyone's 
hands I am definitely happy to leave them with you.

Outside of high energy physics is a long, long list of people who have been there for me but 
I would like to especially mention Shayne Cairns, Rhiannon Griffin, Jeremy Lusk, 
Sean Krzyzewski, Sara Barber, Tom Akin, Tim Miller, Jenna Nugent Miller, Brian Friesen, 
Maren Padeffke-Kirkland, and Stephane Valladier. All of you helped me get started, get through 
my first two years of grad school, and then countless times for countless other things during 
my entire time here. Together we built G-PSI and helped strengthen this department and each 
other and I am so glad to have worked with all of you. 

As for these new young whippersnappers, I'm from Tennessee so I can use that term, who are 
picking up the mantle we left behind and carrying it forward on their own journey towards 
enlightenment, publications, and prestige. I want to thank you all for your friendship, support, 
and belief in me and this department. To Alex, Malia, Renae, James, Tim, Evan, Kyra, Andrew, Joseph, 
Soumya, Javad, Delaram, Brian, and Lisa, I wish you all the best of luck going forward both within 
the department and in your future careers. I am proud to call you all friends and colleagues and 
look forward to where you take the department now that all of us old folks are gone. We leave it 
in your very capable hands.

Even before I was a grad student, or even a physicist (though that is debatable), I had the 
love and support of my wonderful family and friends. Their love, encouragement, and support for what 
I wanted to study even if they had no idea what it was made all of this possible. You all encouraged 
me from day one to pursue whatever made me happy, even if that was cringe worthy at times, and gave 
me the role models and examples I needed to succeed. My mom and grandmother were always there to 
lend an ear whenever I had a student to complain about, and my dad when I was fighting with my 
computer over some piece of code or another, my aunt and step-dad whenever I needed encouragement 
for where this would lead and what life looks like once you are out of school, and my brother who 
 not only supported what I was doing but picked up the slack with the rest of the family when I was 
 busy working. To Michelle and her family, thank you for your help and support as I was starting out 
 and always being willing to hear about the crazy physics I was studying out here, I wouldn't have 
 made it through those first few years without you. And to Lauren and her family who welcomed 
me with open arms and shared my attention with graduate school and never made me feel bad for always 
being busy. I look forward to being able to spend more time with you all now that I embark on this 
new chapter of my life.

Graduate school, as I have learned, is more than just the research. Its also about building you up 
as a person, helping mold and shape the way you think and what you do. I have met so many amazing 
people here and had so many amazing experiences that would have been impossible to have anywhere 
else. To the office staff at OU who helps keep all of that in motion, thank you so very much. This 
place really would fall apart without you. And to the faculty who help make the department the 
powerhouse of research and education it is, thank you for your investments in us and the work you do 
every day to make it a place where we can learn and grow. You all will forever be one of our the 
department's and the university's greatest assets. 

There are even more people to thank than I could have mentioned here. Quantum mechanics taught us 
long ago that our state is influenced by each and every interaction we experience, positive and 
negative, and I can attest to the truth of that even macroscopically. I am who I am today in no 
small part because of the work I did at OU and the people I met and I will always remember that.

\singlespacing

\epigraph{``\textit{The strongest bonds come from families -- those we are born into and those
we choose.}''}{
    --- Jeff Wheeler, \emph{Poisonwell \newline (Whispers from Mirrowen, \#3)}}

\doublespacing % The whole thesis is supposed to be double spaced. The spacing will be switched locally when needed

