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Society of Actuaries Names 2025-2026 Recipients of James C. Hickman Scholars Award

Chicago, IL, Sept. 15, 2025 — The Society of Actuaries (SOA) announced the ten actuarial candidates named as SOA James C. Hickman Scholars. The Hickman Scholars Program provides stipends to doctoral candidates working on actuarial research and education. The SOA Board of Directors named the program in memory of James C. Hickman, FSA, former dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, who helped support actuarial research and teaching as a member of the SOA.

The SOA Board established this program to increase the number of academic actuaries with a Ph.D. and actuarial designation who intend to pursue a career in academia. Each recipient receives a $20,000 USD stipend for the 2025-2026 academic year. The Hickman Scholars named this year include students from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and the United States.

The 2025-2026 SOA Hickman Scholars are:

  • Panyi Dong, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Haoqi Lyu, The University of Hong Kong
  • Mengqi Wang, Western University
  • Austin Riis-Due, University of Waterloo
  • Tianhe Zhang, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Yuan Zhuang, University of New South Wales

These scholarship recipients were chosen from many highly qualified applicants either currently enrolled in or applying to actuarial science doctoral programs or a related field. These recipients have made progress toward, or have already attained, an actuarial designation.

In addition, the SOA renewed stipends for four previous Hickman Scholars for the 2025-2026 academic year:

  • Olivier Côté, Université Laval
  • Yuxin Fang, The University of New South Wales
  • Lydia Gabric, Arizona State University
  • Changyue Hu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Visit the Hickman Scholars page to learn more about the program.

About The SOA

With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world’s largest actuarial professional organization with more than 34,000 actuaries as members. Through research and education, the SOA’s mission is to advance actuarial knowledge and enhance actuaries’ ability 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 measuring and managing risk. To learn more, visit soa.org.