Claudia Perlich was born near Leipzig, East Germany. Her father—having worked on replicating the IBM 360—foresaw that computer-related skills would be in demand, so—on his advice—Claudia studied computer science. Today, she is an adjunct professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a senior data scientist at Two Sigma. Among the aspects of data science she appreciates most is the subtle skill of trying to find what she calls the “little quirks” in a data set. “It’s like doing detective work,” she says.

