From the Top Quark to the Higgs Boson: A Quest for Discovery at the Tevatron

Answers to pressing questions in high energy physics may lie in electroweak symmetry breaking, the phenomenon for explaining why the weak and electromagnetic forces are different. From solving the mystery of dark energy to string theory, our entire philosophy depends on the unknown physics at the electroweak scale. Fermilab's Tevatron has held the distinction of being at the Energy Frontier for the last decade, operating virtually non-stop and providing physicists with enormous data sets. On September 30, 2011, the Tevatron shut down, creating its last particle collisions for the CDF and DZero experiments. During the next few years, these two collaborations will continue to analyze data, produce results and publish scientific papers. I will present some of the latest and most important findings from the Tevatron program, describe how these findings helped shape our understanding of the world we live in and the historical significance of this legendary research program.