October 5, 1972
Chinese Wife First To Take
Capitol Actuarial Test
Reprinted from the
SUNDAY PATRIOT-NEWS
The first student to take the
first of a series of actuarial
examinations the first time it
was offered at Capitol Campus is
a slim, petite, almond-eyed wife
of a faculty member and the
mother of a three-year-old son.
Mrs. Hsi Sheng Nieh passed
the test on her first try which
is quite unusual since the passing
ratio is one out of three.
Actuarial science is in the
realm of higher mathematics; the
application of theories of
probability and statistics and the
principles of finance to problems
of insurance, pension, social
population and related studies.
The actuary is a
mathematician, statistician and
economist all rolled into one a
dispassionate speciality, its
exponents say, requiring keen
interdisciplinary training and
tremendous application.
This doesn't frighten the
soft-spoken Mrs. Nieh. Math and
chemistry were her best subjects,
she says, when she was a school
girl in Hong Kong. Then she was
Tak Wa Loo, born on the
Portuguese island of Macao to
Chinese parents. The Loos
originally came from Canton on
Mainland China and eventually
settled in Hong Kong where her
father was a manufacturer of
costume jewelry.
She learned English in school.
In fact, her teacher was from
England and had much difficulty
with the names of her Chinese
pupils. So she asked each one to
choose an Anglicized first name.
Tak Wa consulted a book of
names for newborn babies and
so much liked the lilt of
"Loretta" that this is what the is
called today.
She and her brother, Chung
Yin, excelled in mathematics
and both came to the United
States to further their education.
He was graduated from Queens
College and is now a research
fellow at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
She was attending Columbia
University when she met her
husband who was working for
his master of science degree in
mathematics at Adelphi College.
They were married, and when
his post graduate work was
completed, he was given an
instructorship at Capitol Campus
so they moved with their son,
Jason, into Pineford Village
Apartments. Mr. Nieh, a native
of Formosa, is in the final stages
of obtaining his doctorate in
computer sciences at University
Park.
Loretta Nieh considers herself
fortunate to be at Capitol
Campus because it's one of the
25 colleges in the nation which
offers actuarial science as a
program.
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EX P I RES JUNE 1 , 1973
Ruskin said, "The work of
science is to substitute facts for
appearances and demonstrations
for impressions." His words have
been adopted as the motto of
the Society of Actuaries, an elite
group of mathematical geniuses
who must pass 10 examinations
before they are accepted as
fellows.
The examinations the first
and second, atleast, are of
three-hour duration; the
remaining eight rectum four
hours each. After passing the
fifth examination, one may hang
out a shingle as an actuarian and
be an associate member of the
society. Currently there are
2,162 fellows and 1,827
associates. The majority work
for insurance companies; the rest
are consultants, government
employees, teachers and
professors.
Actuarial science was offered
last September for the first time
at Capitol Campus. It was a year
in the planning stage. Its
architect and now its professor is
Dr. Barnard Bissinger, an affable
academician, who has passed five
of the examinations himself. A
former logistics advisor to
General Chennault and his
Flying Tigers in 194445, his
career also included a stint as an
athletic shoe manufacturer (He
presented a pair of bowling
shoes to President Truman in the
White House.).
Ten years ago Dr. Bissinger
established a similar program at
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THE CAPITOLIST
Lebanon Valley College with the
help of Conrad M. Siegel, a local
actuarian who passed the 10
examinations at an early age.
Mr. Siegel was also on hand to
set up the program at Capitol
Campus and helped establish the
campus as one of the national
testing centers. Examinations are
offered at six month intervals
and are graded by a
nationally-appointed committee.
The last examination was in May
when 1 ,799 students
participated and 725 passed.
Actuaries are among the best
paid groups of salaried
professionals. And there is a
great shortage of them,
according to one of the leading
insurance management recruiting
firms.
There are 30 substantial
positions available for each
individual looking for more
opportunity. This is expected to
increase even farther with the
life insurance business growing
and diversifying into many
fields.
Many feel the future of the
actuary is tied to the recent
movement of life insurance
companies to become
broad-based fmancial service
companies.
If so, actuaries might some
day be in private practice like
doctors, and be multi-disciplin
ary specialists in financial
services . . . businessmen (and
women) who use mathematics to
analyze and solve practical
problems.
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I.E.E.E. Holds
Organizational Meeting
The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers held their
organizational meeting here in
E-330 last Wednesday night on
September 27.
Over sixty people came to the
meeting and heard about the
benefits of joining the I.E.E.E.
Student Branch. The advantages
explained included the
educational purpose of
advancing the theory and
practice of electrical engineering,
electronics, radio, allied
branches of engineering, and the
related arts and sciences, the
monthly magazines containing
technical articles and industrial
news, the activities of the
Student Branch in fulfilling its
purpose, and the contests open
to all members. Activities
scheduled for the club include
speakers, tours and refreshments
at every meeting.
The club received its official
charter • in December of 1971,
through the major efforts of Mr.
Wesley Houser. Acclaiming the
Electrical Engineering Society
here on campus as a Student
Branch of 1.E.E.E., the national
charter was a big step forward in
recognition of the many
dedicated members.
Striving to advance the
knowledge of its members, the
I.E.E.E. Branch here on campus
helps them "grow
professionally" in their related
fields of study. If you want to
"grow professionally" through
the educational and informative
activities of 1.E.E.E., come to
the meetings and join the many
9rowing Bigger
Every Year
You just know there's a reason.
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members now enjoying the
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I.E.E.E. Get involved! Members
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friend!
In addition, Mr. Gleason, the
Chairman of the Susquehanna
Section of I.E.E.E. which
sponsors the I.E.E.E. Student
Branch here on campus, spoke
about the activities of his section
and how student members may
come to those meetings too. The
meeting closed with
refreshments and a social
get-together.
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