Prof. Dr. Hülya Kılıç Sirel completed her secondary education at Erenköy Kız Lisesi in 1971. In the same year, she began her studies at the State Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Architecture, graduating in 1978 with the professional degree of Master Architect.
During her student years, she worked for two years with architects Sedat Hakkı Eldem and Orhan Çakmakcıoğlu. Following her graduation, she was employed at the IETT Building Maintenance Department between February and June 1979. In June 1979, she began her academic career as a research assistant at the Department of Building Physics, Faculty of Architecture, Yıldız University (İDMMA).
She completed her doctoral studies at the Institute of Science and Technology, Yıldız University, completing her PhD dissertation in 1984, which she had begun in 1980. Her academic appointments progressed as follows: Lecturer in 1984, Assistant Professor in 1987, Associate Professor in 1991, and Professor in 2018.
Throughout her academic career, she held full-time positions as research assistant, lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor at various universities. At the undergraduate level, she taught courses including Building Physics, Architectural Lighting, Urban and Outdoor Lighting, Color in Space, Architectural Acoustics, Solar Control in Architecture, and Heat and Humidity Control. At the graduate level, she taught Museum Lighting, Solar Control, Lighting in Interior Design, and Space in Cinema, and supervised numerous master’s theses.
In 1993, she resigned from her full-time academic position and continued her professional work in the field of building physics within her family company, YFU – Building Physics Consultancy Applications Inc. During this period, she taught Museum Lighting as a lecturer at Yıldız Technical University and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University.
In 2011, she served as a lecturer in the Department of Interior Architecture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Işık University, teaching Architectural Lighting and Outdoor Lighting. Since December 2015, she has been working as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Işık University.
Prof. Dr. Hülya Kılıç Sirel is the author of six published books on lighting and solar control. In addition, she has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, presented papers at national and international congresses and symposia, and contributed chapters to edited volumes.
She is among the founding members of the Contemporary Education Foundation (ÇEV) and continues to serve on its Board of Trustees and Board of Directors. She has also contributed for many years to the foundation’s primary and secondary education working group. As of 2025, she serves as President of the Contemporary Education Foundation.
