My research interests focus on exoplanet imaging and adaptive optics science and technology development. Exoplanet imaging – imaging the light planets around other stars – requires specialized adaptive optics and high contrast imaging technologies to obtain the necessary spatial resolution and contrast to achieve this goal. High contrast imaging and AO generally operate and have generally been developed as separate subsystems within an exoplanet imaging instrument, but my research has focused on combining them, utilizing the highly sensitive exoplanet imaging science detector to sense and an adaptive optics system deformable mirror correct for atmospheric and instrumental errors in a supplemental and complementary way to techniques from both separate fields. Since my PhD studies I have been leading the development and implementation of new exoplanet imaging and adaptive optics technologies and supporting astronomical observations at 10m-class observatories around the world.

Ph.D. Physics, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

B. A. Physics, Astrophysics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Gerard, B. L., Dillon, D., Cetre, S., & Jensen-Clem, R., High-speed Focal Plane Wave Front Sensing with an Optical Chopper, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 135, 024502 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/acb6b6

Gerard, B. L., Perez-Soto, J., Chambouleyron, V., van Kooten, M. A. M., Dillon, D., Cetre, S., Jensen-Clem, R., Fu, Q., Amata, H., & Heidrich, W., Various Wavefront Sensing and Control Developments on the Santa Cruz Extreme AO Laboratory (SEAL) Testbed, SPIE Conference Proceedings Volume 12185, Adaptive Optics Systems VIII, 121852H (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630519

Sengupta, A.~R., Gerard, B. L., Dillon, D., van Kooten, M., Gavel, D., & Jensen-Clem, R., Laboratory demonstration of optimal identification and control of tip-tilt systems, SPIE Conference Proceedings Volume 12185, Adaptive Optics Systems VIII, 1218578 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630765

Gerard, B. L., Dillon, D., Cetre, S., & Jensen-Clem, R., Laboratory Demonstration of Real-Time Focal Plane Wavefront Control of Residual Atmospheric Speckles, Journal of  Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 8(3), 039001, (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.8.3.039001

Gerard, B. L., Dillon, D., Cetre, S., Jensen-Clem, R., Yuzvinsky, T. D., & Schmidt, H., First Experimental Results of the Fast Atmospheric Self-coherent Camera Technique on the Santa cruz Extreme Adaptive optics Laboratory Testbed: Demonstration of High Speed Focal Plane Wavefront Control of Residual Atmospheric Speckles, SPIE Conference Proceedings Volume 11823, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets X, 118231H (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2599556

Gerard, B. L., & Véran, J.-P., Singh, G., Herriot, G., Lardière, O., Marois, C., Fast focal plane wavefront sensing as a second stage adaptive optics wavefront sensor, SPIE Conference Proceedings Volume 11448, Adaptive Optics Systems VII, 1144826 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562861

Gerard, B. L. Exoplanet imaging speckle subtraction: current limitations and a path forward, Ph.D. dissertation, (2020) http://hdl.handle.net/1828/11755

Gerard, B. L., Marois, C., Galicher, R., Baudoz, P., Patapis, P., & Kühn, J., The Fast Atmospheric Self-Coherent Camera Technique: Laboratory Results and Future Directions, Conference Proceedings of AO4ELT6, 401-Fqyt-241 (2019) https://ao4elt6.copl.ulaval.ca/proceedings/401-Fqyt-241.pdf

Gerard, B. L., Marois, C., Galicher, R., &, Véran, J.-P., Fast focal plane wavefront sensing on ground-based telescopes, SPIE Conference Proceedings Volume 10703, Adaptive Optics Systems VI, 1070351 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2314134

Gerard, B. L., Marois, C., & Galicher, R., Fast Coherent Differential Imaging on Ground-based Telescopes Using the Self-coherent Camera, The Astronomical Journal, 156, 106 (2018) https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aad23e

Link to full list here.

• 2020. Falling Walls, nomination for Breakthrough of the Year in Physical Sciences
• 2020. James A. & Laurette Agnew Memorial Award 2016-2019: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship-Doctoral
• 2016-2019: NSERC Technologies for Exo-Planetary Science Program (TEPS) PhD Scholarship
• 2016-2019: University of Victoria Faculty of Graduate Studies President's Research Scholarship
• 2016: RM Petrie Memorial Fellowship 2014: University of Victoria Graduate Fellowship
• 2014: Outstanding Graduate Entrance Award Additional information