Add news posts for Sina defense and CHHS talk

Author: kastnerp

_news/announcement_39.md

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+layout: post
+title: Sina Rahimi successfully defended his PhD
+date: 2026-01-13 09:00:00-0500
+inline: false
+---
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+We are excited to share that [Sina Rahimi](/team/rahimi/) successfully defended his PhD on January 9, 2026.
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+Sina's dissertation, *Integrated Microclimate Simulation: A Novel Approach Towards Simulating Urban Microclimate*, reflects years of work on urban microclimate modeling, outdoor thermal comfort, and simulation tools that support sustainable design research.
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+This milestone also marks an important contribution to the development of [Eddy3D](https://www.eddy3d.com/) and to our broader research on urban physics and design-relevant environmental simulation.
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+Congratulations to Sina on this major achievement, and thank you to everyone who supported him throughout the process.
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+<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sinarahimi2020_i-defended-my-phd-a-little-late-in-sharing-activity-7440539309247512576-s3vw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View Sina's LinkedIn post</a></p>

_news/announcement_40.md

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+layout: post
+title: Presenting with Dr. Benson Ku at CHHS Health Systems Day
+date: 2026-02-22 10:00:00-0500
+inline: false
+---
+
+On February 18, 2026, Patrick Kastner and [Dr. Benson Ku](/team/ku/) presented a lightning talk at Georgia Tech's CHHS Health Systems Day, hosted by the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems in ISyE.
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+The talk highlighted ongoing collaborative work between Georgia Tech and Emory University on longitudinal change in neighborhood characteristics and its role in mental health.
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+This project connects urban systems, spatial analysis, and psychiatry, and reflects our interest in how neighborhood environments shape health outcomes over time.
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+Thanks to [Arthi Rao](mailto:arthir@gatech.edu) and the CHHS team for the invitation and for organizing a day that brought together Georgia Tech faculty, students, and regional health leaders.
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+<p><a href="https://med.emory.edu/directory/profile/?u=BSKU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Learn more about Dr. Benson Ku's work at Emory</a></p>