About the Authors

Jeffrey Pai, Ph.D., ASA, ACIA

Dr. Pai is a Full Professor of Actuarial Mathematics at the Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba. He has an M.S. degree in Actuarial Science and a Ph.D. degree in Statistics from the University of Connecticut, USA. Dr. Pai has taught courses at the Undergraduate, Master, and Ph.D. levels, including most of the actuarial courses offered at the University of Manitoba. He has also taught courses in many countries including the USA (UConn and UC Santa Barbara), Switzerland (University of Basel), Taiwan, Thailand, and China. Dr. Pai has given seminars and published many study manuals in helping students prepare and pass actuarial examinations. He has been serving as an independent reviewer for SOA Exam P since 2013. Dr. Pai has received many congratulation letters from the Dean Office based on his teaching performances. He has also received two outstanding teaching awards in his teaching career. In research, Dr. Pai has published over 40 referred journal papers and received two best paper awards, including the CAS Best Paper Award in 2016.

Hong Li, Ph.D., FSA, ACIA

Dr. Li is an Associate Professor of Economics and Finance at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, University of Guelph. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and an associate fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. Dr. Li has taught various actuarial science and statistics courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has been serving as a grading volunteer and question writer for the SOA QFIPM exam since 2021. Dr. Li has published over 20 refereed journal papers since he obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2015, and has participated in various research projects sponsored by CAS, SOA, and CIA in recent years. He received the 2018 Bob Alting von Geusau Prize for the best paper published in ASTIN Bulletin with a Financial Risk or Enterprise Risk Management focus.

Alisa Walch, M.A., FCAS

Professor Walch is an Associate Professor of Instruction & Actuarial Program Assistant Director at University of Texas at Austin. Professor Walch teaches actuarial science classes, is responsible for semesterly case competitions and serves as faculty advisor for their Actuarial Science Club and Gamma Iota Sigma chapter. Professor Walch also volunteers with the Casualty Actuarial Society and won the New Member Award in 2020. Professor Walch graduated from TCU in 2005 with a Bachelors in Mathematics, then graduated from the UT at Austin in 2008 with a Masters in Actuarial Science. Subsequently, she worked as a Property & Casualty actuary for three years at The Hartford before deciding to switch to academia.

Ambrose Lo Ph.D., FSA, CERA

Ambrose Lo, PhD, FSA, CERA, is the author of several study manuals for professional actuarial examinations and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He earned his BS in Actuarial Science (first class honors) and PhD in Actuarial Science from HKU in 2010 and 2014, respectively, and attained his Fellowship of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) in 2013. He joined the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, the University of Iowa (UI) as Assistant Professor of Actuarial Science in August 2014, and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in July 2019. His research interests lie in dependence structures, quantitative risk management as well as optimal (re)insurance. His research papers have been published in top-tier actuarial journals, such as ASTIN Bulletin: The Journal of the International Actuarial Association, Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, and Scandinavian Actuarial Journal. He left the UI and returned to Hong Kong in July 2023.

Besides dedicating himself to actuarial research, Ambrose attaches equal (if not more!) importance to teaching and education, through which he nurtures the next generation of actuaries and serves the actuarial profession. He has taught courses on a wide range of actuarial science topics, such as financial derivatives, mathematics of finance, life contingencies, and statistics for risk modeling. He is the (co)author of the ACTEX Study Manuals for Exams ATPA, MAS-I, MAS-II, PA, and SRM, a Study Manual for Exam FAM, and the textbook Derivative Pricing: A Problem-Based Primer (2018) published by Chapman & Hall/CRC Press. Although helping students pass actuarial exams is an important goal of his teaching, inculcating students with a thorough understanding of the subject and logical reasoning is always his top priority. In recognition of his outstanding teaching, Ambrose has received a number of awards and honors ever since he was a graduate student, including the 2012 Excellent Teaching Assistant Award from the Faculty of Science, HKU, public recognition in the Daily Iowan as a faculty member "making a positive difference in students' lives during their time at UI" for nine years in a row (2016 to 2024), and the 2019-2020 Collegiate Teaching Award from the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.