"I definitely had plans to go back to Denmark. I had plans to be here for two years," Hau said.
She said she then received word from the Rowland Institute, a research group, that she would be granted funds and laboratory space for her dream research.
"I thought, 'That sounds really good. I think I'm staying here,'" Hau said.
Hau said her eight years at the Rowland Institute have been time well spent.
"It was a very good place for [me as] a young person," she said. "You really get to worry about science and develop scientifically in your early years."
But now, Hau says, she is ready for a change.
"I felt this was a time in my life when I would really like to teach and deal with students," Hau said. "And I think with my background--having worked really heavy-duty scientifically--I have a strong background to do that.
Hau, who was courted by Princeton and Stanford Universities as well as the University of Illinois, said the major draws of Harvard were its students and facilities, particularly the center for mesoscale structures that is currently in planning stages.