in august 1941, oliphant was sent to the us to assist the americans with microwave radar. he took the initiative to enlighten the scientific community there of the ground-breaking discoveries of the maud committee. he travelled to berkeley to meet with his friend ernest lawrence, who soon caught his enthusiasm. oliphant convinced the americans to move forward with nuclear weapons, and his lobbying resulted in vannevar bush taking the report directly to the president. leo szilard later wrote: "if congress knew the true history of the atomic energy project, i have no doubt but that it would create a special medal to be given to meddling foreigners for distinguished services, and that dr oliphant would be the first to receive one."