Contributions ofCecfl J Nesbitt to Actuarial Research

Cherla l. TrO'tfbridge

It is enti reI II fltti ng thet this Twntll-Second Actuarial Research Conference is in 'honor of Cecil

Nesbitt. The setting and the timing are most appropriate. Or Nesbitt received SA, MA, and PhD

degrees, IS owelllS his initial actuarial training, here at the Universitll ofToronto; and 1987

merles the 50th anniversary of his doctorate (to¥ard one end of his long career), and (toverd the

other) the cJ0$8 of his M-uear term IS the Sociatll's Vice-President for Research and Studies.

This short paper records Professor Nesbitt's half-centurll of accompHshment in actuarial

research, though he mall be even better IellOllin IS an outstanding actuarial educator. His Michigen

students honored him for his contributions to actuarial education in 1980, at the time of his

reti rement from active teachi ng. Seven years later this Conference, and this paper, emphasize the

research side of an m ust rio us actuarial career, and particularl \I his achievement si nce his

-retirement-.

His Contributions through Personal Research.

The eerl1at of Cectl's profess1onel..,ntinp wre mathematical, but not speciflcallII actuanal.

Dunng the first daceda he pub1tshed one boole, and 110ht papers, in the Annals of Mathematics, the

Proceedi AIlS of the HatioRiI Academy of Sciences, and in the pub1tcetions of the M universities

Yith ..,hich he has been cl0$8ll1lSSOCiated - - Toronto and Michigan. Most of this earl II and

mathematical phase of the Nesbitt research 'tL'IS In the general field ofelgebra, and Yfth one

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exception involved a co-author.

His ft rst tw publ1cations in actueriel journals eppeered in the 1943 end 1948 vo1 umes of the

Record of the American Institute of Actuaries. These wre follCMd bV Pipers in the Transactions

(t 950, t 952, t 956, t 965, t 976, 1979), the Transections of the Fecu1tV of Actuaries, the

Actuaria1 Research Clearing House (ARCH) i end bV papers with actuerial content in less ectuariaql

journals - the Journal of Chronic 01_, Insurance, Mathematics, and Economics, and the

Proceedings ofSvmposia in Applied Mathematics.

I n this substantial bodV of actuarial research Nesbitt conti nued Iris practice of co-authori ng,

sometimes with one of his students, sometimes with other professors. Speciftc subjects thet hIYe

attrected his research interest range from Rate Functions (Yith M L Ven Eenem, t 948) to

0llnamics of Pension F undt ng (with N L BoYers end J C Hickman, 1976, 1979, 1982). Of special

note are three papars (with H U Gerber) on Survivel Studies of Cpttc Fi brost. Patients.

Anll statement of the Nesbitt professional 'tirit1 np must t ncl ude the tw actuariel texts that bear

his name. His Mathematics of Compound Interest (with MY Butcher), ftrst pubUshed tn 1971, his

verll recentlll bean reprinted. This audience i, sUi'll II wrlJ much wel'l of his role in the 'tiriting

end the publ1cetton of Actueriel Mathematics (Bowrs, Gerber, Hickman, Jones, end Nesbitt) ROY

eppearing in tlnal form, but alreldv the official Soc1etllUfI contingencies text.

The III'ttest of Cecil's personal research, on the actuarial espects of the threat of a nuclear

holocaust, ts being presented at this 1987 ARC, end willmntualll1eppeer in ARCH.

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His Contri buttons through his Students

professor Nesbitt's contrtbuttons through the re.rch at his students mev be dtfftcult to quantifl/,

but are nonetheless important. OYer the veers from 1938 to 1980 tome six hundred actuarial

students took degrees from the actuarial $Cience program at Michigan, and hence actuarial courses

from Nesbitt. Most of these haYe gone on to successfulactuartal careers, and tome haYe done

significant actuarial research.

I\t one ti me the UnivtrsitlJ of Michigan offend a PhD prognm in actuarial tcitnce, and out of this

came six ... 00 took thel r doctorates under Professor Nesbitt. four of theM became professors of

math and actuarial science at other con., or universities, and spread the Nesbitt i nf1 uence even

'w'ider.

His Contrt buttons through the Committee on Reseerch

Manlj in this audience heYe activel V partici pated in the 'WOrk at the SOcietlj's Committee on

Research, the organization behind this 22nd ARC as ""n as the 21 ... hleh preceded. Cecil .... a

member of the Committee from Its belJjnninl), and became its aecond Chairmen ... hen Ed LeY

stepped do'w'n in 1971. Durtng the Nesbitt tw-veer term. Chairmen the 7th I\RC .... held at

Waterloo and the 8th at Harvard. Ha .... particularll/ in evidence In 1973 at Cambrt •. Three

different papers beering his name appear in the Harvard Supplement to ARCH.

The verI/least thet one can Stl/about Cecil's 'WOrk 'w'Ith the Committee on Rneerch Is thet he has

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carried his full shere of the not-inconsiderable load. He has been in attendance at t",o-thi reb of the

pest ARea; toda~ he is praent both as an active participant and as the honoree.

Hts Contributions through the Actuerial Educet10n and Research Fund

Just as Cecil Nesbitt Y'8S "i n on- the activities of the Committee on Research from its ver~

be91 nnt no. so Y'8S he 1 nwlYed Y'1th AERF. That he has been asked to ",rite a h1stor~ of AERF tens us

so met hi no about ",ho has been the prominent plaver.

Whit later became the AERF Y'8S ftrst proposed in the eerl~ 70's b~ the Societ~'s Committee on

Professtonel Development. Eventue11V six dUTerent letuarial oroenizattons Joined in the effort.

but onlv after consideretton bV the appropriate committee in each. The Societv referred the

proposel to its Committee on Research. of ",hich Cecil Y'8S then Chairmen. Through this route our

honoree hid a hand in C)lttinv AERF off'the 9round.

Nesbitt became one of the two Soctetv representetiYlS ",hen the AERF Board Y'8S ft rat oroenized I

and so served until 1980. Shortl V thereefter he Y'8S ca11ed to be the AERF ReMrch I)j rector. an

unpaid but -more then pert-time- poattton that no one hid held previouslV. Considerebl, AERF

meerch output came duri nt the 1981-86 period ",hen CJN ws its Reaeerch Of rector.

Presumeblv \/OU Yill heir further about the AERF at this Conference. ",hat it has eccompltshed in

the pest and ",hat it is doi nt todaV. Little AERF research appean Y'1th his authorshi P, but for much

of it Cectl can be considered the 9u1e1t nt 119ht.

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His Contributions through a Society Vice-Presidency

At the Society's annuel meeting in 1985 Cecil Nesbitt .... elected IS a Vice-President.His specific

assignment for the M-vear term, in add1tion to the usuel VP duties on the Board and the

ExecutiYe Committee, has been to coordi nate the activities of some ten Society committees in the

research area. I n his capacitlllS Vice- President for Research and Studies, Cecil his been

Cheirman of the Research Policy Committee, and has vorked closely vith Hark Doherty, the

Society's Director of Research.

I n soon, Mr Nesbitt his been Mr Research for the 1986 end 1987 Society veen. He 'Will be sorel II

missed ... hen his term expires in October, though 'We knov thet his experience vill be available to

his successor.

Summar II

eecn J Nesbitt mall .... n haw had IS great an impact on ectuenal research IS anll Nonh American

ectuary. His penonal research, important IS it is, is not the only reeson thet .... honor him todelJ.

Perheps his most important contribution lies in his encour.ment of the york ofothers, an

i nfl uence exerted through his many students, and through his york vithi n both the Societll and the

AERf.

All of us interested in ectuerlal research ere deeplll indebted to Dr Nesbitt. We are indeed

fortunate thet he has been vi11ing to de't'Ote so much of his time and talent to research matters,

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especien y si nee his nomi nel reti rement $Gme seven years aoo. If ell actuariel oldsters wre that

productive, our profgessioDlI wrld wuld be e happter pIece.

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