“I’d like to keep moving into the most exciting new field. That’s quite difficult with traditional funding,” she said.

Hau has not ruled out the idea of a sabbatical, but is quick to praise Harvard and her students.

“Optics is really great at Harvard, and one of the great rewards here is the students,” she said.

The MacArthur Foundation would not reveal any information about the decision-making process that selected Hau.

“As a rule we don’t talk about the specific reason why a winner is chosen,” said Daniel Socolow, the director of the fellows program.

“[Candidates] must show exceptional creativity and have great potential. The fellowship must also really make a difference in leveraging that potential.”

The MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grant-making institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition.

Other recipients this year included a concert pianist, a papyrologist, and several other artists and scientists.

In the past two years, Harvard’s Loeb Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences Daniel P. Schrag and Professor of Physics Juan M. Maldacena both received fellowships.