SCET for jet physics in the vacuum and the medium

In this plenary talk I discuss soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) as a framework for precision QCD phenomenology. Emphasis is placed on jet and heavy flavor observables accessible at current and future collider facilities. One of the principal challenges that calculations of hard probes in heavy ion reactions face is the ambiguity associated with the implementation of medium-induced radiative effects. I demonstrate how extension of SCET to describe parton propagation in QCD matter has helped quantify and reduce the theoretical uncertainty in jet quenching calculations.