Dark Matter: Perhaps the Next Great Discovery of Particle Physics?

The problem of missing mass, now known as dark matter, has persisted for nearly a century. In this time, astrophysical evidence in favor of dark matter has only grown stronger. We now know that dark matter constitutes a majority of the matter in the universe, and it has shaped the universe as we know it. Despite this body of knowledge, we still don't know what particles compose dark matter or how they interact with the particles of the Standard Model. The answer to this final set of questions is being pursued on all frontiers of discovery. Experiments are being performed with detectors operating in space and as well as buried deep underground. Hsu will provide an overview of the suite of experiments that is colloquially known as "direct detection" experiments. She will describe how these experiments aim to solve the dark matter puzzle and highlight promising future efforts.