Submitted by Dr C.M. Martin-Jones on Mon, 23/03/2026 - 15:36
Congratulations to Nick Butterfield, Professor in Palaeobiology, on being awarded the prestigious Pilkington Prize in recognition of his teaching excellence.
Since joining the Department thirty years ago, Nick has made a pivotal contribution to the Earth Science teaching program. He has spent his entire career delivering world-class teaching in the lecture theatre, at college, in the lab and in the field.
Nick served as Director of Teaching from 2018 to October 2021, leading an important phase of curriculum and examinations redevelopment over the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, Cambridge Earth Sciences was one of the few departments that continued teaching in-person (wherever possible) throughout the lockdowns, and Nick’s efforts were key to ensuring students could return to the lab at this time.
Nick has led field courses from Part 1A to Part III, and is just as much at home on the Arran foreshore explaining how the Atlantic Ocean opened as he is identifying fossils in basin sediments in Spain.
A key characteristic of Nick’s pedagogical approach is that he does not merely tell a story or reveal the “accepted answer”. Instead, he nurtures the students to make their own observations and develop their own interpretations, guiding, encouraging and instilling them with confidence.
His teaching receives consistently excellent reviews from students, with his passion, charismatic and engaging lecturing style noted time and again. The award is testament to his sustained contributions to teaching and leadership in education in Earth Science over the last three decades.
The Pilkington Prize was set up in 1994 by Sir Alastair Pilkington, who believed that the quality of teaching was crucial to the University’s success. The prizes are awarded to individuals who make a substantial contribution to the teaching programme of a Department, Faculty or the University as a whole. Nominations are made by each of the six Schools.
Photo: Nick teaching first year students in Arran.