The memo was carefully drafted to bring together the various interests that would justify an electronic computing project. This included the ability of such a computer to produce ballistics tables--a task on which the Moore School was falling increasingly behind. It also drew attention to the engineering expertise of the Moore School. Most important, Mauchly laid out the design as a general purpose digital computer. His own research interests in meteorology and cryptography precluded a device limited only to ballistics computations. Too esoteric for the Moore School's senior faculty, and perhaps in conflict with a separate effort to produce an electronic version of the differential analyzer, Mauchly's memo remained idle for the time being.

Mauchly was never officially a researcher on Project PX. Given his designated duties as an instructor, he was permitted only to act as a consultant to the project. In his spare time, however, Mauchly worked closely with Eckert and others to realize the ENIAC computer. An extensive collection of laboratory notebooks, blueprints, and correspondence that document the ENIAC work can be found in the University Archives and Records Center of the University of Pennsylvania.