The first contribution covers the theory of finite groups of Lie type, which is an important field of current mathematical research. After giving the basic information Carter describes the Deligne-Lusztig method of obtaining characters of these groups using l-adic cohomology and subsequent work of Lusztig. The second part by Platonov and Yanchevskii surveys the structure of finite-dimensional division algebras and includes an account of reduced K-theory.