Part 3/5:
The plot thickened when Stephen Jones, a physics professor at Brigham Young University, caught wind of Pons and Fleischmann's work through an informant at the Department of Energy (DOE). In what many perceived as an act of opportunism, Jones rushed to publicly announce his own findings, which were significantly less conclusive than those of Pons and Fleischmann. His announcement included denouncing their claims regarding excess heat production, thus casting doubt on their groundbreaking research.