[en] The experimental research emphasizes the detection and measurement of light charged particles emitted in reactions between heavy ions and complex nuclei. The program involves a collaboration between Carnegie-Mellon University and SUNY at Stony Brook, and utilizes the SuperHILAC and 88'' cyclotron accelerator facilities of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Correlations between light charged particles and heavy fragments provide detailed insights into the dynamics of the reaction mechanism. The light charged particles evaporated from fully accelerated fragments yield information on the excitation energies and spins of the equilibrated reaction products, whereas those particles that are emitted prior to thermal equilibration give a view of the early stages of the reaction. Experimental results of fusion and charged particle emission cross sections are discussed for a variety of heavy ion reactions, particularly those induced by ⁴⁰Ar ions. The theoretical development of the statistical model as applied to particle evaporation is reviewed, and semiempirical methods for facilitating comparisons with experimental data are presented. Current results from singles and coincidence experiments are given in detail for reactions of 340-MeV ⁴⁰Ar with Au, and analyses of average spins and energy sharing among particles are discussed