Comparative Exoplanetary Science

Numerous projects are on going to image exoplanets directly,

permitting spectroscopic and astrometric study of them at a level of

detail never before possible. I will describe my instrumentation and

observational work in this area concentrating on the Lyot Project,

the world's first optimized coronagraph, and the Gemini Planet

Imager, due for first light in December 2010. Results include new

portraits of circumstellar disks and a few intriguing companions of

nearby stars.