Two Oxford Mathematicians are among four University of Oxford researchers who have been awarded European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grants, part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. These grants, totalling €678 million this year, aim to support outstanding scientists and scholars as they establish their independent research teams and develop their most promising scientific ideas.

A team of Oxford Mathematicians together with colleagues from the Oxford Botanic Garden and the University of Manchester has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries. The squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium, from the Greek ‘ekballein,’ meaning to throw out) is named for the ballistic method the species uses to disperse its seeds. But how does it do it?