Heavy-ion experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY, USA) and at the Large Hadron Collider (CERN, Switzerland) have established that a new form of matter, called quark gluon plasma (QGP), is produced in ultra-high energy collisions of heavy nuclei such as gold (Au) and lead (Pb). Having established the existence of the QGP phase, these experiments now aim to characterize the phase transition between hadronic and QGP matter, determine the equation of state (EOS) of the QGP, and measure several of its properties, including its viscosity, electrical conductivity, etc. The task is arduous but theoretical and experimental advances are promising. I will present selected measurements by the ALICE experiment at the LHC that provide a sound basis for theoretical modeling and evaluation of some of the sought for properties of the QGP.