His research work concentrated on standardization of fracture mechanics testing and structural assessment particularly of thin-walled structures and mismatched welded joints but also on micromechanics of multiphase materials, stress corrosion cracking and creep crack propagation.
The impact of his distinctive scientific work was not restricted to Germany and Europe but is well recognised all over the world. He has been, and still is, an appreciated speaker at many conferences and a welcome guest at many institutes and industrial corporations in America as well as in Europe, in China or Japan. Among other awards he received the Award of Merit and Fellow of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) und the Irwin Medal from ASTM.
Karl-Heinz Schwalbe took numerous initiatives to form and to lead national and international technical committees of the fracture mechanics community. As one of the founders of the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS), and its chairman for a long time, he was one of the most formative characters of the European research on fracture and damage. Presently, he spends immense effort on promoting a high standard of research papers in Engineering Fracture Mechanics.
Those of us who were working in his team at GKSS appreciated him as their group leader not only because of his high professional skill, but also because of his prudence, his fairness and his friendly character. They feel privileged of having been his co-workers and friends and they still appreciate his advice in many aspects.