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Craig Mascarenhas

ENGINEERING & SCIENCE

portfolio

Education

M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2017)

Mechanical Engineering

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B.A.Sc., University of Toronto (2015)

Mechanical Engineering, minor: Sustainability

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Grad Certificate, Harvard Extension School (2020)

Business Economics

Bio

Operating at the intersection of engineering, cleanTech, climate, and aviation, and am always open to new collaborations and projects.

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Currently, I work at Harvard University focused on coupling aerial innovation, instrument technology, and climate science. My responsibilities include resource direction & deployment, building strategic partnerships & securing funding opportunities & grants, engineering leadership on various fronts, and fulfilling an educator role at the college, by serving as an undergraduate thesis advisor and occasional lecturer. Additionally, I work closely with Electra.aero (electric aviation company), in order to develop battery & propulsion subsystems for a solar-powered aircraft program.

 

​On the academic side, my current research focus is on aircraft design optimization, miniaturization technologies, battery modeling, and climate applications of UAVs, especially related to wildfires. Over the years, I have also participated in numerous field campaigns with NASA, NSF, and others, in various capacities including as engineer, scientist, and principal investigator.

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Previously, I have worked or researched in a wide range of industries, spanning aerospace, biotech, energy storage & batteries, nuclear, hydropower, solar power, desalination, and climate technology through both industry and academia, in both startups and large organizations, and in multiple countries.​​​

Select Publications & Patents

Publications either resulted from a focus of some science-related program, or arose as a secondary outcome out of some engineering work. The publications denoted here include contributions as either lead author, contributing author, or project supervisor. 

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  • C. Mascarenhas, S. Sripad, J. Anderson, V. Viswanathan,  J. Langford III, "Performance metrics required of next-generation batteries for fixed-wing high-altitude long-endurance solar powered UAVs" [in preparation]

  • C. Mascarenhas, E. Fell,  M. Aziz, J. Anderson, "Development of specialized battery cycling system and degradation performance analysis" [in preparation]

  • T. Teisberg*, C. Mascarenhas*, D. Schroeder, J. Anderson, "Feasibility of ice penetrating radar sounding from stratospheric UAS platforms", IEEE IGARSS (2025) [accepted]

  • A. Pamarty, C. Mascarenhas, "A multi-objective genetic algorithm-based optimization as an inlet design tool for high-altitude long-endurance aircraft instrumentation", EUCASS (2025) [accepted]

  • B. Lohani, C. Mascarenhas, "Aerodynamic Drag Analysis of Superpressure and Zero Pressure Balloons using Large Eddy Simulations (LES)", Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics  (2025) [link]

  • A. Dewald, C. Mascarenhas, J. Dykema, J. Anderson, “Feasibility and Sensitivity Analysis of Integrated Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on HALE Aircraft for Wildfire Applications”, AIAA Aviation (2024) [link]

  • J. Dykema, S. Bianconi, C. Mascarenhas, J. Anderson, “Feasibility study of a total precipitable water IPDA lidar from a solar-powered stratospheric aircraft”, Applied Optics (2023) [link]

  • A. Pamarty, C. Mascarenhas, J. Anderson, “Effects of Reynolds Number and Solidity Ratio on Advection Dominated Mixing in High-Altitude Instrument”, Measurement Science and Technology (2023) [link]

  • C. Mascarenhas, J. Anderson, J. Langford III, “Solar-Powered Aircraft Feasibility Analysis based on Propulsion System Characteristics”, AIAA Aviation (2022) [link]

  • C. Mascarenhas, J. Anderson, J. Langford III, “Solar-power Aircraft-Configuration Design Optimization based on Propulsion System Mass and Efficiency Characterization”, AIAA Aviation (2021) [link]

  • C. Love, C. Mascarenhas, et al. (2018) Systems and methods for manufacturing biologically-produced products, US Patent Number US20200251186A1 [patent link]

  • C. Love, C. Mascarenhas, et al. (2018) Filtration systems and methods for manufacturing biologically-produced products, US Patent Number US10987636B2 [patent link]

  • L. Crowell, A. Lu, K. Love, C. Mascarenhas, et al., “On-demand manufacturing of clinical-quality biopharmaceuticals”, Nature Biotechnology (2018) [link] [featured in: Phys.org]

  • C. Mascarenhas, “Design and Development of Components of a Modular Bioreactor”, MIT Thesis (2017) [link]

  • C. Mascarenhas*, et al., “Development of a Village-Scale, Solar-Powered Reverse Osmosis System”, ASME IDETC (2016) [link]

  • J. Hinebaugh, J. Lee, C. Mascarenhas, A. Bazylak, “Quantifying Percolation Events in PEM Fuel Cells Using Synchrotron Radiography”, Electrochimica Acta (2015) [link]

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* joint first authors

Select Talks & Presentations

  • IEEE International Geoscience & Remote Sensing Symposium (Brisbane, Australia, 2025) upcoming

  • EUCASS European Conference for Aerospace Sciences (Rome, Italy, 2025) upcoming

  • NASA Ames Earth Science Seminar (Sunnyvale, California, 2024)

  • AIAA Aviation (Las Vegas, Nevada, 2024)

  • European Space Agency – HAPS4ESA (Leiden, Netherlands, 2024)

  • AIChE Battery & Energy Storage Conference (Argonne NL, Illinois, 2023)

  • AIAA Aviation (Chicago, Illinois, 2022)

  • AIAA Aviation (D.C./Hybrid, 2021)

  • World Hydrogen Energy Conference (Toronto, Canada, 2012)

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Also represented at: American Geophysical Union, USGS Federal UxS Workshop, Stratospheric Operations and Research Symposium, ASME IDETC, Paris-Saclay HAPS

Recent Media

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"A podcast dedicated to shining a spotlight on visionaries at the forefront of frontier technologies"

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​"...with seed grant funding, Jim Anderson and co-Principal Investigator Craig Mascarenhas from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will explore the feasibility of leveraging a suite of miniaturized instruments aboard a future generation of solar-powered HALE aircraft to better measure and address climate-fueled wildfires"​​

  • Aerial Climate Observation with Craig Mascarenhas as featured on the Rising Tide: The Future of Everything podcast by Systemanova

​      [Spotify: podcast link] [Apple Podcasts: podcast link]

 

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  • Salata Institute Funds Five New Climate Research Projects [news article]​​

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Field Campaigns

Fieldwork through medium-term deployments has proved essential for progress in novel aviation and for earth science campaigns. From 2017 to 2025, I have been extremely privileged to be part of a variety of field missions that sought to advance climate science and electric aviation. These have required working at NASA, Harvard, and private entities in various capacities. These experiences have been an extremely rewarding part of my career to date, due to the hands-on experience whether as a project leader or as an individual contributor. There are times I've served as a Principal Investigator on an instrument or as Program Manager for a mission, and times I've worked in the field as an engineer or aerospace scientist. Sometimes I've flown to the field to represent Harvard, and sometimes I've showed up simply to lend an extra pair of hands (e.g. to help work on an airplane prior to FAA airworthiness inspection). Often the work is inside an aircraft or balloon hangar, in launch sites all over the country. Most recently, I went on a field mission inside the Arctic Circle to measure carbon flux measurements from the melting permafrost. My role was partly to provide engineering and science support, but mostly to use a modified science van to take flux measurements over the tundra.

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Science & Engineering Missions:

  • NASA Dynamics & Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere

  • NSF Flux Observations of Carbon from an Airborne Laboratory (FOCAL)

  • Stratospheric Airborne Climate Observing System (SACOS)

  • Horizontally-propelled Stratospheric Balloon​

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Novel aerial platform development:

  • Solar-powered aircraft, in partnership with Electra.aero

  • Stratospheric balloon with horizontal propulsion (first-of-a-kind)

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Carbon flux van & anemometer, Arctic Circle, 2024

NASA DCOTSS mission with the ER-2 (U-2), California 2021

First flight of the solar-electric Dawn One aircraft, Virginia, 2022 

Pre-balloon launch for NASA HUSCE, New Mexico, 2018

Portfolio

With a formal background in research & engineering, I have been involved in various science & engineering projects over the years. Here's a snapshot of some of my research and engineering portfolio, either as contributor, project lead,  project commissioner, or principal investigator.

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Research Snapshot
Engineering Snapshot
Experience

Areas where I may have some expertise or relevant background experience, through formal work or projects. I am generally interested in pursuing future projects related to any or all of these.​

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  • Electric Aviation

  • Aerospace Engineering

  • Batteries & Energy Storage

  • Nuclear Fission

  • Climate Science & Technologies

  • Clean Energy Technologies

  • Hydropower​

  • Fuel Cells

  • Desalination

  • Solar power & Photovoltaics

  • Biologics & Biotechnology

  • Mechanical Engineering

Conducting a nuclear reactor "walkdown", Canada, 2013

New turbine installation, Chile, 2017

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