Virtual Event: Emerging Pictures of Distant Worlds (11:00 am PST)

Bruce Macintosh is a professor of physics and the deputy director at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. In 2014 he joined the faculty of Stanford and is now deputy director of KIPAC. As principal investigator of the Gemini Planet Imager, he uses an advanced adaptive optics planet-finder for the Gemini South telescope to image extrasolar planets orbiting nearby stars. Professor Macintosh co-led the team that made the first-ever images of an extrasolar planetary system, discovering four giant planets orbiting the young star HR8799. He also leads a Science Investigation Team for the coronagraph instrument on the forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Telescope, that will enable imaging and spectroscopy of even fainter extrasolar planets. Additionally, he employs adaptive optics technology to control light and explores other approaches to studying extrasolar planets.