Physics Colloquium, Professor Jonathan Feng, UC Irvine. Refreshments at 3:45.

Abstract: A quarter of the Universe is composed of dark matter, but the particle identity of dark matter remains a deep mystery. I will review recent progress in resolving this puzzle, focusing on several leading classes of dark matter candidates, including WIMPs and related possibilities. I will discuss the theoretical motivations for these candidates, their diverse implications at the interface of particle physics, astroparticle physics, and cosmology, and the prospects for identifying dark matter in the coming years.