METHODS OF ESTIMATING STRESS-STRENGTH INTERFERENCE RELIABILITY UNDER A TIME DEPENDENT DEGRADATION ANALYSIS By

Dean of the Graduate College ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation towards my Master's Adviser, Dr. Kenneth E. Case for his guidance through the entire research. I would like to thank him for the great amount of patience that he showed right through the years that I worked under him. He has been a source inspiration to me over this time and I believe that he has played an integral role in all of my academic achievements during this period. I would like to thank my committee members Dr. Manjunath Kamath and Dr. David B. Pratt for their willingness to serve on the committee and for their help through the entire process. I would like to specially thank Dr. Kamath for working with me on various aspects through my Master's degree and in part serving as my unofficial adviser. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. I would like to thank my Mother for supporting me in every perceivable way that she found possible, without whose encouragement, I would not have considered such a venture. Lastly, I would like to thank the members of the CCIME center for their cooperation and help through my years of working with them.