I am interested in furthering our understanding of planet properties and formation processes by asking questions such as: What are planets outside our solar system made of? How did they form? What are the architectures of their solar systems? To answer these questions I use of high-contrast direct imaging techniques to observe exoplanets and their neighbouring debris--extrasolar analogs to the Kuiper and Asteroid belts. In particular, I focus on using polarimetry as a tool for the detection and characterization of both exoplanets and circumstellar disks.

Here's an example of actual images of an exoplanet oribiting its star. The video shows observations of the planet Beta Pictoris b obtained with the Gemini Planet Imager. You see the planet get closer to its star (center left) over a span of roughly 2.5 years.

I currently have observational projects using data from a wide range of telescopes including: Keck, Gemini, Subaru, JWST and HST. In the two pages below, I give some more examples of my current and past projects.