Reinvented Magazine's 2021 Interview of the Year is its print feature on Raven Baxter

Reinvented Magazine named "Putting the A in STEAM: Science Communication Through Song," its 2021 print feature on Raven Baxter, its 2021 Interview of the Year. The nonprofit magazine for girls and women in STEM announced the honor online on December 12, 2021.

Written by Lavanya Sharma, the feature covered Baxter's work teaching science through music. She produces her own beats and writes and performs the lyrics. Her COVID-19 safety parody Wipe It Down spread in March 2020. Antibodyody explained antibodies as the first vaccines neared authorization. In September 2021, after the feature ran, she shared Antibodyody in reply to Nicki Minaj's vaccine tweet. Her 2019 single Big Ole Geeks set molecular biology to a Megan Thee Stallion remix.

The award came as women remained underrepresented in computing and engineering. A Pew Research Center analysis published April 1, 2021 found women held 25% of jobs in computer occupations. As of 2018, women earned 22% of engineering bachelor's degrees and 19% of those in computer science.

Interview of the Year is one of four Content Awards in Recognizing Reinventors, the magazine's annual awards for women in STEM. The program began with a virtual ceremony on July 23, 2020, with the National Girls Collaborative Project as presenting sponsor. In its second year, no ceremony took place.

"Unfortunately we didn't get to host our annual virtual event this year, but that didn't stop us from making sure our finalists and winners got the recognition they deserved," the magazine wrote in its announcement.

Reinvented's 2021 Content Awards honorees. Image: Reinvented Magazine

Other 2021 honorees included Woman of the Year Dr. Kilan Bishop and Mathematician of the Year Dr. Eugenia Cheng. Dr. Stella Kafka was named Ally of the Year and Kevin J. DeBruin Educator of the Year. Meghana Krishna's "Open Source: A New Approach to Philanthropy" won Article of the Year.

Caeley Looney, an aerospace engineering graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, founded Reinvented in 2018. Its mission, according to its website, is "to reinvent the general perception of women in STEM fields while inspiring interest in STEM for young women worldwide." For every magazine sold, it donates one to a library, school or girls' club, so readers without easy computer access can read it. The awards moved to its Space Gala starting in 2022.

Baxter, a molecular biologist, was then completing her Ph.D. at the University at Buffalo, where she defended her dissertation in June 2021.

The full list of 2021 honorees is on Reinvented Magazine's website.