This report describes the successful construction of a system which will be used for investigations of 1D Fermi gases and the 2D Hubbard model. An entirely new apparatus was constructed that is capable of rapidly producing quantum degenerate Fermi gases. This work resulted in the development of a new all-solid state laser source for red laser light which can be used for lithium spectroscopy and may be useful in other applications such as color displays, photodynamic therapy, and a pump for Cr:LiSAF lasers. This work also led to new insights into how high-power multi-longitudinal mode fiber lasers can be used for preparing quantum degenerate atomic gases. Finally, a method for preparing Fermi gases in an optical lattice at exceptionally low temperature was proposed. The low temperatures attainable with this technique will permit exploration of the 2D Hubbard's model's phase diagram in a regime where d-wave-paired superfluidity may be expected. Future experiments made possible by results of this work should give us new insights into electron transport in nanowires and the mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity in cuprate materials.