the memorandum was given to oliphant, who passed it on to tizard in his capacity as the chairman of the committee for the scientific survey of air warfare (cssaw). he in turn passed it to thomson, the chairman of the committee to which the cssaw had delegated responsibility for uranium research. thomson's committee was about to disband. it had studied nuclear reactions in uranium, and the use of graphite as a neutron moderator in a nuclear reactor, but its results had been negative, and it had concluded that the rate of capture of neutrons by the graphite was too great to make such a reactor a practical proposition. the frisch–peierls memorandum caused thomson to reconsider. after discussions between cockcroft, oliphant and thomson, cssaw created the maud committee to investigate further. as enemy aliens, peierls and frisch were initially excluded from its deliberations, but they were later added to its technical subcommittee.