Mehlika Inanici

Professor

Mehlika Inanici, Ph.D., is a Professor at the University of Washington, Department of Architecture.

The focus of her research is computational lighting design and analysis. The underlying presumption in her research and teaching is that analytical approaches employed throughout the design processes help architects to envision the performance of their designs, accelerate and improve the design decisions, and reduce the uncertainty of the outcome. A large body of her research centers on developing and utilizing computer-based (day)lighting analysis techniques and metrics that can facilitate occupant comfort, satisfaction, health, and productivity improvements, in conjunction with significant energy savings.

Inanici has authored or co-authored highly influential papers on the use of high dynamic range (HDR) photography to measure and evaluate existing environments and to conduct psychophysical studies on visual comfort and preference. Her work on lighting measurements with HDR photography was selected as one of the “25 classic papers” in the 50-year history of the Journal of Lighting Research and Technology (2018) among the 2048 papers published between 1969 to 2018. Some of her papers are on the most cited list in Leukos (the journal of Illuminating Engineering Society) and Lighting Research and Technology.

She has developed Lark Multispectral Lighting tool in collaboration with ZGF Architects LLC. Lark is an open-source software for simulating the non-visual effects of light that entrain the human circadian system. She also developed hdrscope in collaboration with former M.Sc. student Viswanathan Kumaragurubaran.

Her research has been funded by the US Department of Energy, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University of Washington Royalty Research Fund, UW Built Environments Innovations Collaborative Grant, and the Nuckolls Funding for Lighting Education.

Prof. Inanici’s teaching focuses on graduate-level courses on building performance simulation (such as Arch 524 Design Technology V, Arch 582 Computational Lighting Research, and 598 Performance-Driven Design) and research methodologies (Arch 592). She is the former director of the Design Technology track of the Master of Science in Architecture program. She supervises students from the Master of Architecture, Master of Science in Architecture, and the Ph.D. program in Built Environments. Prospective students are encouraged to read the document here before applying.

Prof. Inanici has received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan. She is the recipient of the Taubman College Distinguished Dissertation Award (2004). She has Master of Science degrees both in Architecture (University of Michigan) and Building Science (METU), and a Bachelor of Architecture degree (METU). Previously, she worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in Berkeley California, where she received the LBNL Outstanding Performance Award (2005).

Dr. Inanici is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES), the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), and the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA).