The Science Impact of HAWK-I

HAWK-I is ESO's most efficient near-infrared camera, and after two and a half years of operations we review its science return and give some future directions in the context of the Adaptive Optics Facility. The instrument underwent major technical challenges in the early phase of its operations: there was a problem with the entrance window, which was replaced, and radioactive events occur in the material of two of the four detectors. A number of high quality science papers based on HAWK-I data have been published, indicating a good performance and scientific return. HAWK-I is well-suited for a variety of attractive science cases and a project is in development to provide a faster readout, which would improve the capabilities for Galactic observations. When combined with the laser-assisted ground layer adaptive optics system, HAWK-I will become an excellent facility for challenging follow-up observations of exoplanetary transits.