BCL::SAXS - SMALL ANGLE X-RAY SCATTERING PROFILES TO ASSIST PROTEIN STRUCTURE PREDICTION By

To my treasured wife Marti-my eternal companion To the Lord Jesus Christ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS They have encouraged, advised and led me along this path. I want to thank members of the Meiler Lab – Dr. Edward W. Lowe for his help with GPU acceleration, Brian Weiner for his help in programming and introduction to the lab, Mariusz Butkeivicz and Jeff Mendenhall for their insight and assistance throughout the development of BCL::SAXS. I want to thank the Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education (ACCRE) at Vanderbilt for computer time on their cluster. I would especially like to thank Dr. Jens Meiler, the chairman of my committee. As my teacher and mentor he has taught me through word and action the type of scientist I would like to become. My family has been critical to my success in this journey. My wife Marti has been my constant companion and my children Amelia, Max, Shauna, Jordan, and Spencer have been my cheerleaders and have made sacrifices of " Daddy " time enabling me to complete this work. I recognize the hand of the Lord in my life and give gratitude to my Savior Jesus Christ. " That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. " (Doctrine and Covenants 50:24) iv TABLE OF CONTENTS