Jaques Tits, the mathematician behind Tits buildings, the Tits alternative, the Tits group, and the Tits metric, has died at 91

Belgian-born mathematician Jaques Tits passed away on Sunday, December 5th, leaving behind a legacy of research in group theory and geometry. His tendency to name his contributions after himself suggests that he knew his power.

He won the Abel Prize in 2008, an award created in 1899 after a Norwegian mathematician learned that Alfred Nobel would not give out a prize in mathematics. — Read the rest