Professor Pippa Petts, from our Department of Physics, has been awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding contribution to teaching and learning.
The fellowship, awarded by Advanced HE, recognises Pippa's impact on physics education and her role in building one of the UK's leading physics education research groups.
Having originally trained as an experimental nuclear physicist specialising in radiation detection, Pippa discovered a passion for teaching while working in industry.
Pippa joined Durham University in 2013. In 2021 she established Durham's Physics Education and Scholarship section with a clear vision to become a leading UK centre for research into Physics teaching and learning.
The section began with eight staff members and has since grown to 13. It is now one of the largest sections of its kind in the UK.
The team focuses on improving how physics is taught and learned, while supporting staff to develop expertise in physics education research.
In 2025 Pippa was invited by the Institute of Physics to write a case study on establishing and running a successful physics education research group. The Durham model is now viewed as an example of best practice.
A key focus of Pippa's work is the use of immersive technology, including virtual and augmented reality.
Physics often involves concepts that cannot be directly observed. Pippa's research explores how technology can make these invisible ideas easier for students to understand.
The Physics Education and Scholarship section also leads research into digital teaching, generative AI and laboratory education.
Alongside this work, Pippa is exploring how physicists think about their discipline and how they define knowledge within the subject.
Pippa describes receiving the fellowship as both rewarding and unexpected.
The highly competitive application process was supported by colleagues from Durham's Centre for Academic Development.
While proud of the Physics Education and Scholarship section's success, Pippa is already thinking about the next phase.
Having led the section through its formative years, she is keen to support future leaders and ensure fresh ideas continue to flourish.
She is also developing plans for a university-wide Centre for Immersive Technology. The centre would bring together researchers from across Durham who are using immersive technologies in innovative ways.
The ambition is to share expertise, encourage collaboration and strengthen Durham's position as a leader in technology-enhanced learning and research.
For Pippa, the National Teaching Fellowship offers not only recognition of past achievements but a springboard towards the next generation of innovation in teaching and education at Durham.
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