Metamaterials containing active constituents from gyroscopic and odd-elastic effects challenge some basic symmetry principles of classical elasticity, which has significantly broadened the foundation of possibilities to manipulate non-Hermitian elastic waves in a highly unconventional guise.

Solving challenges in oral drug delivery requires new ways of thinking about charged macromolecules and soft matter. Here, the author describes his unique academic journey, and how it enabled him to see this problem in a new light.