Society of Actuaries Announces 2023 Actuarial Science Early Career Award Recipient
August 4, 2023, Schaumburg, IL—The Society of Actuaries (SOA) and its Education and Research Section are happy to announce the winner of the 2023 SOA Actuarial Science Early Career Award. This year's deserving recipient is Dr. Wenjun Zhu, FSA, CERA, an assistant professor in Nanyang Business School (NBS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore. Dr. Zhu is a Society of Actuaries James C. Hickman Scholar, and the first student to graduate from the PhD program at the University of Waterloo in 2015 without a Master's degree in the department.
Dr. Zhu is a highly accomplished academic with an impressive record of publications in leading journals as Management Science, Journal of Risk and Insurance, North American Actuarial Journal, Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, ASTIN Bulletin, and Journal of Banking & Finance. Her research spans diverse areas, encompassing climate change, weather risk management, agricultural insurance, predictive analytics with machine learning, and longevity risk management. Through close collaboration with the insurance industry, actuarial professional bodies, and governments, Dr. Zhu's research aims to revolutionize insurance practice by developing state-of-the-art tools for more efficient risk management. In addition to her research pursuits, she finds joy in teaching, offering courses in actuarial science, finance, risk management, and insurance at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Recognizing her exceptional teaching abilities, Dr. Zhu was awarded the 2020 NBS Teaching Excellence Award (TEA) and received nominations for the Msc Financial Engineering Teacher of the Year Award 2020, as well as the NBS Business Teacher of the Year Award 2021.
The SOA Actuarial Science Early Career Award is open to individuals within ten years of commencing their first full-time academic appointment. Apart from recognition, awardees receive a cash prize of $5,000. To be eligible for nomination, candidates must present evidence of publications on actuarial science subjects in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrating potential impact on industrial applications. Additionally, they must possess a credential from an International Actuarial Association (IAA) member organization or show ongoing progress towards obtaining an actuarial professional credential.
About the Society of Actuaries
With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world’s largest actuarial professional organization with more than 32,000 actuaries as members. Through research and education, the SOA’s mission is to advance actuarial knowledge and to enhance the ability of actuaries to provide expert advice and relevant solutions for financial, business and societal challenges. The SOA’s vision is for actuaries to be the leading professionals in the measurement and management of risk.