PhD Thesis (PDF) - Department of Astronomy - University of Virginia

students. I can not recall the countless hours he has spent helping me install various
X-ray software packages. But more importantly, we became good friends. I will miss
our discussions of everything technical, late night video game sessions, and countless
lunch runs.
Dan Wik and I met when he began his graduate student days in the department
two years ago. But it was not until I started lifting with him that we began to
become good friends. Our talks of astronomy, politics, and virtually everything else
made lifting longer, but much more enjoyable. He has extended spotting me in the
weight room to my life beyond. I am forever in his debt for his friendship and all his
help in my final year here.
Next, I would like to thank my friends that predate my Charlottesville years. My
closest friends from Delaware, Barbara Eucalano, Chad Leigh, Brett and Lea Ann
Skipper, and Mike and Christy Pollack have provided me with support for over 14
years now. We may not meet up or talk as often as we once did, but I value each
time we do. Now we will have a whole new town to explore. The same goes for my
college buddies, Mike Descy, Dave Erenberg, and Myq Kaplan. They always know
how to make me act a little less serious, a trait I am thankful for.
Most of all, I have been supported by my family; my grandfather Murray Sivakoff
and grandmother Shirley Barouch; parents Ilene and Sheldon Sivakoff; and sister and
brother-in-law Beth and Jay Band. A conversation my father and I had in a car one
fateful afternoon helped me realize that the Universe is a big place that might have
some intellectual space I could mark as my own. This and my family’s emphasis on
education throughout my life started my path in astronomy. More importantly, I
never could have finished without my entire family being behind me. This work is
dedicated to them.
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