BOSTON, MA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/03/13 -- Quantopian, the company creating the world's first browser-based algorithmic trading platform, today announced well-known Python and pandas expert Wes McKinney will join as an advisor to the company. McKinney will work with the Quantopian team and community to optimize the codebase to provide faster and more efficient performance. He will also speak at upcoming Quantopian events and meetups, where he will discuss Python, financial analysis and algorithmic development for quantitative finance.

"Wes is a Python rock star," said John 'Fawce' Fawcett, Quantopian founder and chief executive officer. "His technical knowledge, gift for financial analysis and enthusiasm all make him a great fit. One of the values we provide our community is by bringing in a variety of experts such as Wes who can share insights and information to make Quantopian a better place for all quants. We're looking forward to having Wes engaging with our community."

McKinney is recognized as being an original and ongoing author of pandas. His recently published book, "Python for Data Analysis," discusses the essentials of manipulating, processing, cleaning and crunching data in Python. McKinney is also co-founder of Lambda Foundry, which provides high-productivity solutions for data science and helps drive forward pandas, data analysis and visualization.

"I'm so excited to be involved with Quantopian," said McKinney. "The community is unique because it's based on the idea that designing, testing and understanding quantitative trading algorithms can be a shared, open and collaborative process. Sure, there some elements that people may want to keep to themselves, but the big idea here is different, and I like it. I'm eager to meet the Quantopian quantbase to think, play, learn and teach. It's going to be great."

For more information about McKinney and Quantopian, visit www.quantopian.com.

About Quantopian
Quantopian is building the world's first browser-based algorithmic trading platform. The company gives quants the tools and support they need to learn, create and reap the benefits of quantitative finance. With Quantopian, users can be operational in minutes rather than months. The company provides robust foundational technology for creating algorithms and unfettered access to a decade's worth of trading data for backtesting. Quantopian is also an engaged community where people can discuss concepts, processes and performance and learn from peers and experts. The result is a better way to understand -- and profit from -- quantitative trading. Quantopian is headquartered in Boston. Learn more at www.quantopian.com, or visit us at the Quantopian blog, or follow us on Twitter @quantopian.