The origin of the galaxies represents an important focus of current
cosmological research, both observational and theoretical. Its resolution
involves a comprehensive understanding of star formation, galaxy dynamics, the
cosmology of the very early universe, and the nature of the dark matter. In
this review, I will focus on those aspects of dark matter that are relevant for
understanding galaxy formation, and describe the outlook for detecting the most
elusive component, non-baryonic dark matter.Comment: To be published in joint proceedings for Mitchell Symposium on
Observational Cosmology and Strings and Cosmology Conference, College
Station, April 2004, eds. R. Allen and C. Pope, AIP, New York, and in
proceedings for PASCOS04/NathFest, Boston, August 2004, eds. G. Alverson and
M. Vaughan, World Scientific, Singapor
