Each issue of The Actuary brings new highlights, and every time I think: we won’t be able to top that. This issue is no different.
The first feature is an interview with Richardson Professor of Applied Mathematics Nick Higham, who tells us how the nearest correlation matrix algorithm came about – something I have used since my earliest days as an actuarial student when trying to work out why the economic scenario generator was falling over yet again.
We also feature Joseph Lo’s look back on award-winning general insurance research and the Brian Hey Prize. Other prizes are also available for those who work in different areas, such as the Peter Clark and Geoffrey Heywood prizes, and we would welcome future contributions discussing these. We are a profession whose members dedicate a huge amount of personal time to advancing knowledge and freely disseminating research, and it is right that we celebrate and encourage our volunteers. You will no doubt have noticed that The Actuary has covered some more technical articles recently, and this continues with our cover feature about research into avoiding discrimination in insurance pricing.
In May we celebrated the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, and David Forfar discusses the role of Polish cryptologists – including an aspiring actuary – in cracking Enigma during the Second World War.
Last month also saw the Mental Health Foundation host Mental Health Awareness Week; in this issue John Taylor, IFoA president and Mental Health Foundation spokesperson, writes about his own mental health experiences and the value of opening up. The theme of the campaign was kindness – something we should be practising more of, particularly during this difficult time. I hope you enjoy the issue, and be kind to yourselves and others.
Dan Georgescu
Editor
