The potential of many nondestructive inspection methods and evaluation procedures are often demonstrated under rather pristine conditions. Considerable difficulty may result from attempting to apply such methodologies to actual components. This is further complicated if the material is inhomogeneous and anisotropic. Nevertheless with the use of advanced materials in complex geometry critical components, it is necessary to develop methods for assuring their quality during or upon completion of manufacture. This presentation will examine the challenges associated with this task and discuss the feasibility of the acousto-ultrasonic material characterization method for meeting these challenges. Particular attention will be given to implementing this methodology in an automated, cost effective manner. Work that is in progress involving laser in/out ultrasonic generation and detection technology, along with robotic sensor manipulation, and advanced computerized data acquisition and analysis will be discussed. / Master of Science