“I am certain MIT will do all it can to keep him here,” Sur said in February.

Hauser said Harvard’s students as well as its resources likely contributed to Pinker’s decision.

“The students at MIT, who are superb, are much more narrow,” Hauser said. “At Harvard, you get a diversity of interests.”

According to Spelke, Pinker’s arrival will forge stronger connections between MIT and Harvard.

“Since coming to Harvard, one of the things that has been most important to me has been maintaining ties with MIT,” Spelke said. “Steve will make a lot of links across the universities.”

According to Hauser, Pinker’s time will be divided among three main activities: teaching, continuing his research, and writing the popular scientific books and articles that have made him a well-known figure outside his field.

Hauser lauds Pinker’s qualities as a teacher.

“He’s a fantastic teacher who will inspire undergraduates,” Hauser said.

Hauser and Pinker have co-taught seminars at MIT, and Hauser raised the possibility of teaching—and working—together again.

According to Hauser, they may end up “linking forces” to research issues of human morality.

Pinker’s current research touches on how people learn to speak, and how vision works in a three-dimensional world.

He also supervises the MIT Twins Study, which examines how different upbringings affect twins, testing the importance of environment compared to genes.

—Staff writer Ben A. Black can be reached at bblack@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Ella A. Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@fas.harvard.edu.