Elliott Cheu, Interim Dean, Honors College and Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of Arizona
From the beginning of civilization, we have attempted to reduce our world to its simplest components. This search resulted in the discovery of the electron and culminated in the recent detection of the Higgs boson. Our current model of the particle world is stunningly successful in describing the Universe as we know it. Yet we do not understand many of the underlying principles that shape the natural world. The nature of mysterious things such as dark matter and dark energy are as yet unknown to us. This lecture will describe the journey that has culminated in our current understanding of our Universe, while pointing to the discoveries that are yet to be made.