Strategies For Discovering New Physics At The Lhc

The Large Hadron collider has recently discovered a particle that has properties similar to the Standard Model Higgs boson. The LHC experiments will continue to collect data to measure the properties of the Higgs-like boson more accurately to determine if it is the Standard Model Higgs. The Higgs-like particle that was observed also suggests that there are new colored states with masses that can be within reach of the Large Hadron Collider. In this thesis, I discuss the idea of simplified models, which seeks to better guide experimental searches for new states beyond the Standard Model, as well as new techniques to improve the sensitivity of current searches for colored particles. Finally, I discuss the implications of the Higgs on searches for new physics at the LHC and other experiments.