Hüseyin Şehitoğlu received a Bachelor of Surgery in Mechanical Engineering from City University London, in 1979, and a Master of Surgery, and Doctor of Philosophy in theoretical and applied mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in 1981 and 1983, respectively.
Professor Şehitoğlu served as department head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Illinois from 2004 to 2009. He was named a Grayce Wicall Gauthier Professor from 2000-2004 and then a Chief Justice Gauthier Professor from 2004-2008. In 2008, Şehitoğlu was named the first ever John, Alice, and Sarah Nyquist Endowed Chair in Mechanical Science and Engineering.
From 2003 to 2008 Şehitoğlu was Editor of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology.
In 2012, Şehitoğlu was awarded by the University of Illinois for his excellence in graduate-level mentoring.
