Kate Jones, assistant professor of physics, is one of three nuclear physicists to receive a prestigious Outstanding Junior Investigator (OJI) Award from the U.S. Department of Energy. The award recognizes exceptional scientists early in their careers by supporting development of their individual research programs. The honor brings with it a total of $300,000 over the next three years for her research proposal: “Spectroscopic Studies Close to 100Sn and 132Sn Using Direct Reactions and Gamma Ray Measurements.” This is the second OJI award in three years for UT Knoxville’s nuclear physics program: in 2007, assistant professor Thomas Papenbrock won for his proposal, “Structure of Rare Isotopes.”