inanici@uw.edu
Department Profile

Mehlika Inanici

Professor, Architecture

Mehlika Inanici, Ph.D. is a Professor and the former director of the Design technology track of the Master of Science in Architecture program 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 envision the performance of their designs, accelerate and improve 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 developed Lark Multispectral Lighting tool in collaboration with ZGF Architects LLC. Lark is an open-source software to simulate the non-visual effects of light that entrains the human circadian system. She also co-developed hdrscope in collaboration with 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 (Arch 524 Design Technology V, Arch 582 Computational Lighting Research, and 598 Performance-Driven Design) and research methodologies. She supervises students from the Master of Architecture, Master of Science in Architecture, and the Ph.D. program in Built Environments.

Inanici has received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan. 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 in Berkeley California. Dr. Inanici is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society, the International Commission on Illumination, and the International Building Performance Simulation Association.

Publications

2023

Chmielinski, M., Yost, M. G., Cohen, M., Inanici, M., & Simpson, C. D. (2023). Non-ionizing radiation modeling to predict ambient irradiance in work areas at an indoor cannabis farm. Annals of Work Exposures and Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxad048 View Publication

2022

Inanici, M; Abboushi, B; Safranek, S. (2022). Evaluation Of Sky Spectra And Sky Models In Daylighting Simulations. Lighting Research & Technology, 1. View Publication

Ko, W. H., Schiavon, S., Altomonte, S., Andersen, M., Batool, A., Browning, W., Burrell, G., Chamilothori, K., Chan, Y.-C., Chinazzo, G., Christoffersen, J., Clanton, N., Connock, C., Dogan, T., Faircloth, B., Fernandes, L., Heschong, L., Houser, K. W., Inanici, M., … Kent, M. (2022). Window View Quality: Why It Matters and What We Should Do. Leukos, 18(3), 259–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/15502724.2022.2055428 View Publication

2021

Parsaee, Mojtaba; Demers, Claude M. H.; Potvin, Andre; Lalonde, Jean-francois; Inanici, Mehlika; Hebert, Marc. (2021). Biophilic Photobiological Adaptive Envelopes For Sub-arctic Buildings: Exploring Impacts Of Window Sizes And Shading Panels' Color, Reflectance, And Configuration. Solar Energy, 220, 802 - 827. View Publication

Inanici, M. (2021). Research Methods in Daylighting and Electric Lighting. In: Azari, R., Rashed-Ali, H. (eds) Research Methods in Building Science and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73692-7_4 View Publication

Altenberg Vaz, Nathan; Inanici, Mehlika. (2021). Syncing With The Sky: Daylight-driven Circadian Lighting Design. Leukos, 17(3), 291 - 309. View Publication

2020

Liu, Yue; Colburn, Alex; Inanici, Mehlika. (2020). Deep Neural Network Approach For Annual Luminance Simulations. Journal Of Building Performance Simulation, 13(5), 532 - 554. View Publication

Parsaee, Mojtaba; Demers, Claude M. H.; Lalonde, Jean-francois; Potvin, Andre; Inanici, Mehlika; Hebert, Marc. (2020). Human-centric Lighting Performance Of Shading Panels In Architecture: A Benchmarking Study With Lab Scale Physical Models Under Real Skies. Solar Energy, 204, 354 - 368. View Publication

2019

Jung, B.; Inanici, M. (2019). Measuring Circadian Lighting Through High Dynamic Range Photography. Lighting Research & Technology, 51(5), 742 - 763. View Publication

2017

Inanici, Mehlika; Hashemloo, Alireza. (2017). An Investigation Of The Daylighting Simulation Techniques And Sky Modeling Practices For Occupant Centric Evaluations. Building And Environment, 113, 220 - 231. View Publication

2016

Van Den Wymelenberg, Kevin; Inanici, Mehlika. (2016). Evaluating A New Suite Of Luminance-based Design Metrics For Predicting Human Visual Comfort In Offices With Daylight. Leukos, 12(3), 113 - 138. View Publication

Hashemloo, Alireza; Inanici, Mehlika; Meek, Christopher. (2016). Glareshade: A Visual Comfort-based Approach To Occupant-centric Shading Systems. Journal Of Building Performance Simulation, 9(4), 351 - 365. View Publication

2014

Van Den Wymelenberg, K., & Inanici, M. (2014). A Critical Investigation of Common Lighting Design Metrics for Predicting Human Visual Comfort in Offices with Daylight. Leukos, 10(3), 145–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/15502724.2014.881720 View Publication

2010

Inanici, Mehlika. (2010). Evalution Of High Dynamic Range Image-based Sky Models In Lighting Simulation. Leukos, 7(2), 69 - 84. View Publication

Van Den Wymelenberg, Kevin; Inanici, Mehlika; Johnson, Peter. (2010). The Effect Of Luminance Distribution Patterns On Occupant Preference In A Daylit Office Environment. Leukos, 7(2), 103 - 122. View Publication