We study the action of the formal affine Hecke algebra on the formal group algebra, and show that the the formal affine Hecke algebra has a basis indexed by the Weyl group as a module over the formal group algebra. We also define a concept called the normal formal group law, which we use to simplify the relations of the generators of the formal affine Demazure algebra and the formal affine Hecke algebra.

In 1969 Quillen discovered a deep connection between complex cobordism and formal group laws which he announced in [Qui69]. Algebraic topology has never been the same since. We will describe the content of [Qui69] and then discuss its impact on the field. This paper is a writeup of a talk on the same topic given at the Quillen Conference at MIT in October 2012. Slides for that talk are available on the author's home page.

Motivated by complex oriented equivariant cohomology theories, we give a natural algebraic definition of an $A$-equivariant formal group law for any abelian compact Lie group $A$. The complex orientedcohomology of the classifying space for line bundles gives an example.We also show how the choice of a complete flag gives rise to a basis and a means of calculation. This allows us to deduce thatthere is a universal ring $L_A$ for $A$-equivariant formal group laws and that it is generated by the Euler classes and the coefficients of the coproduct of the orientation. Westudy a number of topological cases in some detail. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification: 14L05, 55N22, 55N91, 57R85.