Planet formation takes place rapidly in the disks around
young stars. In order to understand the process, we must understand the
nature and evolution of the youngest stars, the physics of the
protoplanetary disks, and the formation timescale and properties of the
exoplanets themselves. I will report on current research in my group on
all three aspects of the problem using infrared imaging and spectroscopy,
including observations and modeling of young stars and their disks,
direct observations of young, very low mass objects, and radial velocity
searches for young planets. The new IR spectrographs being built
jointly by KASI and UT, IGRINS and GMTNIRS, will be decisive in
revealing the details of planet formation. I will discuss some of the ways
in which these instruments will move us from the era of discovery
to one in which we can gain a quantitative understanding of planet
formation.