Leadership

Hareen Aparakakankanange

President and CEO

Hareen Aparakakankanange the President and CEO of AEROLAB. Hareen purchased the company and assumed leadership of the team in 2013. Under Hareen’s tenure at AEROLAB, the company has enjoyed a period of substantial growth within the company’s core markets of academic and research wind tunnels as well as robust expansion into new markets for industrial and entertainment wind tunnels.

Hareen has over 15 years of experience in research, design, and management associated with aeronautical wind tunnels and their associated applications. His expertise is in aerospace engineering with an emphasis on experimental aerodynamics. Hareen has spent his career developing and cultivating relationships with experimental aerodynamicists, researchers, and industry leaders throughout the world.

Hareen began his career at the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel where he designed, coordinated, and executed large-scale wind tunnel tests for numerous clients including General Motors, Ford Motor Company, the United States NAVY, Boeing, AAI and more. His experience at the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel combined with his subsequent experience in designing and building wind tunnels provides him with a unique perspective and ability to evaluate wind tunnel designs not only to ensure they meet strict research specifications, but also to ensure accessibility for students, researchers, and commercial users.

Hareen holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Paul Vasilescu

Vice President and CTO

Paul Vasilescu joined AEROLAB's leadership team in 2014. Paul oversees the company’s engineering and development activities. Under Paul’s leadership, AEROLAB has expanded upon the company’s wind tunnel design expertise to include extensive use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and CFD driven geometric optimization in the design process which collectively increase wind tunnel performance and efficiency while reducing facility construction costs. These advancements have allowed the company to expand its wind tunnel offerings in existing and new market segments.

Paul has over 15 years of combined experience in program and project management, wind tunnel design, aircraft and propulsion system design, mechanical design and computer aided engineering. Paul’s project management experience includes serving as project lead for large-scale and complex wind tunnel and facility development programs distributed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Paul’s technical specializations include Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), aerodynamic optimization, and mechanical design.

Prior to joining AEROLAB, Paul’s career included serving as project lead for multiple aerospace and defense development programs with a focus on aircraft and propulsion system development.