The research presented in this dissertation was performed in the Atomic, Molecular and Optical (AMO) physics laboratory at the University of Manitoba. Atomic beams of the two-valence-electron heavy atom systems, barium and ytterbium, were investigated with low energy electron scattering and optical emission studies. Both the ground states and laser excited states were investigated as a function of incident electron beam energy from 10 eV to 50 eV. Measurements of relative cross sections and polarization for 583 nm and 554 nm line emission from the (6s7p)1P1 and (6s6p)1P1 states of barium excited by electron impact from both the ground states and the optically pumped metastable (6s5d)1D2 are reported. Data are normalized to absolute cross sections for the ground state (6s2)1S0→(6s6p)1P1 state transition due to electron scattering, with corrections for branching ratios and cascading from higher states to deduce the total level excitation cross sections. Results are also presented for the first studies of the 399 nm line emission from laser-excited ytterbium, yielding an upper limit on the apparent cross section for the (6s6p)3P1→(6s6p)1P1 transition. Results are compared with the latest theoretical models and previous data, where available. / October 2015