Why I’m Switching to Polars
I recently decided to switch from Pandas to Polars for my Python projects that use dataframes. I came to...
Ari Lamstein
I'm a software engineer who focuses on data projects.
I currently work as a Staff Data Science Engineer at a marketing analytics consultancy.
I began my career as a software engineer at leading tech companies. During this time I developed a hit video game and worked at two start-ups that had successful exits. I then transitioned to data science, where I worked as an independent consultant and trainer.
I have created several popular open source projects. I write about these projects on my blog, which is read by thousands of software engineers and data scientists.
My most recent project is a Covid Demographics Explorer. This Python app builds a custom dataset of demographic statistics from the Census Bureau’s API. It uses Streamlit and Pandas to let you explore how demographics in America changed during Covid-19.
I spoke about this app at the San Francisco Python Meetup on June 13.
Latest Blog Posts
Recording of my talk at the SF Python Meetup
The recording of my June talk at the SF Python Meetup ("A Streamlit App to Explore how America Changed...
New Project: “Data Engineering with Databricks” Course
This week I embark on an exciting new project: taking Databricks' official "Data Engineering with Databricks" course! At the...
Past Projects - Delete this section?
Chroplethr
Choroplethr is a suite of R packages that facilitate the creation of choropleth (i.e. color-coded) maps. Choroplethr connects to multiple public data sources, allowing you to explore current and historic demographics. It has been installed hundreds of thousands of times and is the subject of three online courses. I have spoken about it at several conferences.
Testimonials
People I Have Worked With:
Derek Darves, PhD
Vice President at AEA investors LP
Ari is fun to work with, intelligent, and a solid software engineer. Ari took on the challenge of making the HubPages Q&A service better. I was very impressed by Ari's passion for the problem, his drive to find patterns in the Q&A analytics, and his ideas for improving the service. I believe that Ari will be a great addition to any software team.
Larry Freeman
Staff Engineer at Walmart Labs
Ari, who championed the Question and Answer feature on HubPages.com, did so much more than his "Software Engineer" title suggests. In addition to heading up initiatives for new features that improved Q&A on our site, he went the extra mile to design reports to make it easy to analyze their efficacy. It was great to work with someone who, in addition to building things, really made sure they mattered and made the impact they were intended to make. I hope I will have the opportunity to work with him again in the future!
Simone Collins
VC | PE | International Ops | 5x bestselling author | Education
Ari is a great communicator. Compared to other software engineers whom I've worked with, he stands out because he loves to write reports and visualize data. He worked on several projects while at HubPages, but perhaps the most significant was a system for notifying users of interesting events on the site. The scalable, adaptive system notified users via email and live notifications. It has greatly improved user engagement on HubPages.
Fawntia Fowler
Resourceful full-stack developer in the digital media industry
Ari is extremely knowledgeable, detailed oriented and very nice person as well as professional to work with. He has helped me lot with my R projects. He is quick and smart. I can safely say he is an expert in teaching. I would highly recommend him
Nukehet Kayahan
Sr, MTC Data and AI Architect at Microsoft
Ari effectively balances the level of his explanations with the knowledge of his clients, be they beginners or professionals alike. More importantly he really understands his client's problems and supports others to achieve successful outcomes through a variety of channels. I did his online courses as well as a one to one session online. He organized and explained everything in advance to ensure that the session can start on time, and the live online session was a great success. His professionalism, work ethics and enthusiasm are exemplary, his knowledge is extensive, and above all his personable and kind manner set him entirely apart. I would be more than happy to work with Ari again.
Lucie H. Krennwallher
Founder of DrLucie -Agile Pfrede
Ari Lamstein recently conducted his workshop Mapping Open Data in R for the Berkeley R Meetup at U.C. Berkeley. The workshop was a tremendous.... Ari is a highly skilled and effective presenter. He is knowledgeable, well-organized, patient, and clear! His workshop examples and supporting materials are excellent. Participants came away from the workshop with the basic skills necessary to start working on mapping projects on their own. The response to his workshop by participants was universally positive, several have requested a follow-up session. If you have a mapping project and need training or technical assistance, I highly recommend Ari's workshop and services for your organization.
Allan Miller
Data Scientist, Educator, and R Programmer
Ari is both a gifted teacher and a very insightful programmer -- attributes you don't always find strongly within the same person! He developed a clear plan to advance the R programming skills of our group and boosted our overall competency to the degree he projected in our SOI. In short, his vision matches execution, and he has the skills, insight and experience needed to succeed as a statistical consultant. Thank you Ari!