Physicist Professor Diva Makes Celebrities of Scientists

Facetime with Scientists · Aug 22, 2026 · 53m

Reres Fota is a theoretical physicist who also goes by another name: Professor Diva! The Diva was born when Reres started combining his two loves, in the classroom and on social media: physics and heels dancing! Reres is a PhD researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he also teaches a wildly popular class on quantum mechanics. His mission is to make physics accessible to anyone and everyone! In this podcast episode, we talk about his journey, his philosophy on teaching and science communication, the value of visuals, making of celebrity scientists, and more!