My research bridges pop culture and mathematical sociology to examine how media representations shape our understanding of science, identity, and society. I analyze films, television, and music through a sociomathematical lens to uncover patterns in how "genius" is portrayed, and how these portrayals reinforce exclusionary narratives around mathematics. By revealing how popular culture constructs narrow and often unattainable images of mathematical brilliance, my work challenges the cultural barriers that prevent broader access to and engagement with mathematics.
%BTS and ARMY logo over a fluid flow background
%Monica Morales Hernandez
%Summer 2025
%This code display the BTS and ARMY logos in a background
%representing fluid flow
close all
clc
% Create figure
figure
axis equal
axis off
hold on
set(gcf, 'Color', 'w') % White background
% Define colors
lavender_purple = [172, 139, 238] / 255;
shadow_color = [100, 100, 100] / 255;
% === Swirling Background Field ===
[xg, yg] = meshgrid(linspace(0, 8, 100), linspace(0, 6, 100));
u = sin(yg) + cos(2 * xg);
v = -cos(xg) + sin(2 * yg);
magnitude = sqrt(u.^2 + v.^2) + 0.1;
u = u ./ magnitude;
v = v ./ magnitude;
% Plot streamlines
h = streamslice(xg, yg, u, v, 1.2);
set(h, 'Color', [0.8 0.85 1], 'LineWidth', 1.2)
% Define lavender purple color (#ac8bee)
lavender_purple = [172, 139, 238] / 255;
%% === Left-side BTS Logo with flipped orientation ===
% Original flipped trapezoid coordinates (notice reversed y order)
x1 = [1, 1, 2, 2];
y1 = [3.9, 1.7, 1, 5];
% Reflection over vertical axis x = 2.2
reflection_axis_1 = 2.1;
x1_reflected = 2 * reflection_axis_1 - x1;
% Draw the original and reflected trapezoids
fill(x1, y1, lavender_purple, 'EdgeColor', 'none')
fill(x1_reflected, y1, lavender_purple, 'EdgeColor', 'none')
% Label
text(2, 0.5, 'ARMY', 'HorizontalAlignment', 'center', ...
'FontSize', 24, 'FontWeight', 'bold', ...
'Color', lavender_purple, 'FontName', 'Arial')
%% === Right-side BTS Logo using standard orientation ===
% Original trapezoid coordinates
x2 = [1, 1, 2, 2];
y2 = [1, 5, 3.9, 1.7];
% Shift to the right (to avoid overlap with left logo)
x2 = x2 + 4;
% Reflection over vertical axis x = 6.2
reflection_axis_2 = 6.08;
x2_reflected = 2 * reflection_axis_2 - x2;
% Draw the original and reflected trapezoids
fill(x2, y2, lavender_purple, 'EdgeColor', 'none')
fill(x2_reflected, y2, lavender_purple, 'EdgeColor', 'none')
% Label
text(6.2, 0.5, 'BTS', 'HorizontalAlignment', 'center', ...
'FontSize', 24, 'FontWeight', 'bold', ...
'Color', lavender_purple, 'FontName', 'Arial')
%% === Final axis settings ===
xlim([0 9])
ylim([0 7])
% Export final image
%exportgraphics(gcf, 'bts_army_side_by_side.png', 'Resolution', 300)