Title: Diagnosing the SEEDS of Planet Formation

Abstract: Circumstellar disks provide a useful astrophysical diagnostic of the formation and early evolution of planets outside of our Solar System. It is commonly believed that young protoplanetary disks serve as the birthplace of planets, while older debris disks can provide insight into the architecture of exoplanetary systems. In this talk, I will discuss how one can use high contrast imaging techniques to spatially resolve nearby circumstellar disk systems, and how this imagery can be used to search for evidence of recently formed planetary bodies. I will focus on the initial results and future prospects from the Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) project, a 5-yr program to spatially resolve ~200 nearby circumstellar disks and investigate ~300 nearby stars for a direct imaging exoplanet survey.