I will first explain why supersymmetry has for a long time been considered the leading candidate for the completing the standard model at the TeV scales. Then I discuss the main problems supersymmetric theories face: reaching 125 GeV for the mass of the Higgs boson, and evading direct experimental bounds on superpartners from LHC searches. I will focus on one particular non-minimal extension of supersymmetry called R-parity violation. These models have the potential of evading the generic bounds on superpartners. However, as I will argue in many cases they would give rise to events with displaced vertices, which are also severely constrained by LHC data.

Cornell University