Malcolm Slesser was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 energy

Energy

In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

 analyst

Analyst

Analyst generally is a term for an individual of whom or which the primary function is a deep examination of a specific, limited area and may mean:* Accounting analyst, an accounting analyst evaluates and interprets public company financial statements...

, scientist

Scientist

A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...

 and mountaineer

Mountaineer

-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...

.

Biography

Slesser graduated from Edinburgh University. He began mountain climbing when he was young. In the 1950s Slesser joined an expedition to the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

. He wrote widely on mountain climbing and was considered to be an expert in the field.

Slesser worked in a number of industries in the private sector

Private sector

In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...

 before settling in academia

Academia

Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...

, including the synthetic fiber

Synthetic fiber

Synthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve on naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by forcing, usually through extrusion, fiber forming materials through holes into the air, forming a thread...

s, oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

 and nuclear

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

 industries. Ultimately, he became a Professor of Energy at Strathclyde University. in Glasgow, Scotland. The author of more than 100 published technical papers, Slesser's books ranged from energy systems and the environment to exploration and sustainable development.

Slesser pioneered the study of the potential for economic growth that led to methods for estimating the economic carrying capacity through the ECCO

ECCO

ECCO Sko A/S is a Danish shoe manufacturer and retailer founded in 1963 by Karl Toosbuy in Bredebro, Denmark. Originally established as a footwear manufacturer, the company has since expanded into leather production and leather accessories....

 (Evaluation of Capital Creation Options also referred to as the Enhancement of Carrying Capacity or Economic Coordination Options) model of an economy uses the stocks-and-flows paradigm (aka system dynamics) to track energy and other natural capital flows through the economy. ECCO models were first developed by Malcolm Slesser in Edinburgh in the late 1990s along with Jay Baguant, Dr. Anupam Saraph

Anupam Saraph

Anupam Saraph is a respected innovator and polymath who has been an advisor in governance, informatics and strategic planning. Anupam Saraph obtained a PhD from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in Informatics while working with the IMAGE team at the RIVM and IVEM in the Netherlands. He is an...

, Dr. Wouter Besiot

Wouter Besiot

Dr Wouter Besiot was an Associate Professor and the Head of the Energy and Materials Group at the Interfacultaire Vakgroep Energie en Miliukunde at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Besiot is best known for his work on Response Time and Respite Time. ECCO models were first developed by Malcolm...

, Dr. Klass Jan Noorman

Klass Jan Noorman

Dr Klass Jan Noormanhas a PhD from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen on ECCO Models. ECCO models were first developed by Malcolm Slesser et al. in Edinburgh in the late 1990s along with Jay Baguant, Dr. Anupam Saraph, Dr. Wouter Besiot, Dr. Klass Jan Noorman and Jane King.-References:...

 and Jane King

Jane King

Jane King is a St. Lucian poet, a leading West Indian writer of the generation born after World War II. She was born in Castries but had a peripatetic childhood, as her family spent time in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Scotland during her early years. She won a St Lucia island scholarship to...

.

The Pamirs expedition of 1962 was a difficult affair. Both the Alpine Club

Alpine Club (UK)

The Alpine Club was founded in London in 1857 and was probably the world's first mountaineering club. It is UK mountaineering's acknowledged 'senior club'.-History:...

 and the Scottish Mountaineering Club

Scottish Mountaineering Club

The Scottish Mountaineering Club is Scotland's second oldest mountaineering club. Founded in 1889, in Glasgow, the private club, with about 400 members, publishes guidebooks and runs a list of Munroists.-History:At the time of the club's founding there were a number of experienced Alpinists...

 had been asking to climb in the Pamir Mountains

Pamir Mountains

The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...

 of Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

, which were then part of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. Then John Hunt

John Hunt

John Hunt may refer to:*John Hunt , Quaker minister, originally from London, England, and one of the "Virginia Exiles"*John Hunt , Quaker minister and journalist from Moorestown, New Jersey...

 (of the Alpine Club) and Slesser (of the SMC) received telegrams from the Soviets granting permission for a party of twelve British climbers to mount an expedition to the Pamirs, provided the two joined forces. Slesser said of this: "It was a bit like proposing that North

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 and South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 should co-operate on making a nuclear bomb." In the event, Slesser and Hunt were joint leaders of the British party, which mounted a joint expedition with the Soviets with the goal of climbing Ismoil Somoni Peak. The animosity between the Scots and the English was exceeded by that between the British and the Soviets. Early on, two of the climbers – Robin Smith and Wilfrid Noyce

Wilfrid Noyce

Cuthbert Wilfrid Francis Noyce was an English mountaineer and author...

 – were killed, and Hunt went home. Slessor's best known book, Red Peak, chronicled the expedition.

Slesser died while walking on the Ardnish Peninsula at Loch Ailort

Loch Ailort

Loch Ailort is a sea loch loch in Morar, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. Loch Ailort is a shallow V shaped loch, with the small Ardnish Peninsula on the north side, and the large southwest facing Moidart Peninsula to the south...

 in the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

. It is suspected he suffered a heart attack.

Selected publications

• Red Peak: A Personal Account of the British Soviet Expedition 1962 (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1964, 256 pp, with endpaper maps, 12pp b/w & 4pp of colour plates)
• Scottish Mountains on Ski (1970)
• The Island of Skye (1975)
• With Friends in High Places (2004)