‘The joy of creating and dealing with opposites,’ is how Erwin Sommer described his guiding principle when he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg on 25 October 2002. He was honored at the time for his services in setting up the branch office of the Fraunhofer IWM in Halle and the collaboration with the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

More than 20 years later, on 31 March 2023, Erwin Sommer was awarded honorary membership by the German Association for Materials Research and Testing (DVM). This was in recognition of his achievements for the association and his services to establishing fracture mechanics as a field of materials science research in Germany. In the 1960s and 1970s, fracture mechanics developed into the concept par excellence for the investigation of crack-related damage in components and the assessment of component safety. Sommer’s motivation was to advance the status of research and make it usable for the requirements of industry.

This claim paved the way for the creation and flourishing growth of the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2021, and whose development he influenced as head of the institute from 1977 to 2001. Starting with research into fracture pro­­cesses in glass in the 1960s, many new industrially relevant areas of application for materials mechanics solutions were developed here, such as the high-temperature behavior of power plant components, manufacturing technologies for glass, crash safety, and tribology.

Even before German reunification, the Fraunhofer IWM maintained a close academic relationship with the then Institute for Solid State Physics and Electron Microscopy at the Academy of Sciences in Halle. As part of the reorganization of the East German research landscape, a Fraunhofer IWM branch office was established in Halle in 1991, initially with 16 employees, from which the independent Fraunhofer IMWS evolved in 2016 after continuous growth. With a great deal of sensitivity, skill and personal commitment, Erwin Sommer coordinated the successful establishment of this sister institute in Halle and transferred the research activities there to the Fraunhofer bust. By integrating the different cultures in Freiburg and Halle within the Fraunhofer IWM, Erwin Sommer wrote a success story for the merging of East and West.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft also greatly benefited from Sommer’s level-headed, far-sighted and goal-oriented approach when, in the 1990s, he persuaded Fraunhofer institutes specializing in materials technology to found the first joint Fraunhofer Group. To this day, the Fraunhofer Group MATERIALS is a mainstay of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. As chair of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, he was a sought-after mediator and source of inspiration at the interface between the institute directors and the executive board.

Prof. Peter Gumbsch, who succeeded Erwin Sommer in 2001 as head of institute, paid tribute to his life's work: “Prof. Sommer not only introduced fracture mechanics as a scientific discipline in Germany, but with the establishment of the Fraunhofer IWM on this basis, he also showed how basic materials research is inspired by industrial needs and how industrial benefits are created with the research results. Erwin Sommer embodied and lived the Fraunhofer model. The well-being of his institute was always close to his heart, even into old age. We bid farewell with gratitude and respect to a Fraunhofer role model, a clever mastermind, a valued advisor and an inspiring person.”

Obituary of the Fraunhofer IMWS for Prof Dr Erwin Sommer