The American Physics Society, in an effort to improve physics participation among black and Latino students, offers awards and scholarships to members of those groups who concentrate in physics, but Law says she hasn't seen any significant results at Harvard.

"We don't have many [black or Latino students], and I don't know what to do about it," Law says.

Steven J. Gortler, director of undergraduate studies for computer science, says his program offers a fellowship for minority students, and other departments report similar scholarships for minorities.

Despite these incentives, representation in sciences among non-Asian minorities has far from equalized.

According to John Hutchinson, associate dean of academic programs in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, while there is little the departments can do to encourage minority involvement, students sometimes take the initiative in encouraging their peers.

"Some minority students do quite a good job of reaching out to their classmates and incoming freshmen to encourage them to join [the engineering program]," he says.

Peer mentoring, for example, is one of the services provided by the Harvard Society of Black Scientists and Engineers (HSBSE).

The group's president, Jason E. Williams '01, a pre-med student, says its goal is to "foster a sense of community among black scientists."