It is with deep sorrow that we bid farewell to our longtime colleague PD Dr. Heiko Andrä, the deputy head of the Materials Simulation Department at Fraunhofer ITWM. He passed away on September 25, 2026, following a serious illness.
As an internationally recognized scientist in the field of numerical mechanics, he provided significant impetus to materials research and, among other things, shaped research in digital rock physics far beyond Germany’s borders with his work on microscale simulation. As part of a long-standing collaboration with Robert Bosch GmbH, he worked with several of his doctoral students to make multiscale fatigue simulation of composite materials commercially viable. Even when his illness had already taken its toll, he actively helped shape the activities of the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence for Programmable Materials (CPM) and contributed to its success.
Heiko Andrä was born on November 10, 1961, grew up in the Ore Mountains, studied mathematics, and earned his doctorate at the University of Chemnitz. After German reunification, he completed his habilitation under Prof. Schnaak in the field of engineering mechanics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He then worked for more than 25 years at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM). There, he played a key role in establishing and expanding the department »Flow and Material Simulation (SMS)«, where he also shared responsibility for »Material Simulation« as deputy department head for many years. His scientific contributions played a significant role in the spin-off of Math2Market GmbH and the development of its GeoDict software.
His actions were always forward-thinking and empathetic; he championed new methods and techniques, thereby actively shaping the structural transformation in materials research brought about by digitalization. The training and support of the next generation of scientists was a particular priority for him, to which he devoted himself wholeheartedly as a private lecturer at the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University and as a mentor and advisor to ten doctoral students.
His vast expertise and his intelligent, highly systematic, and always collaborative approach to work have had a lasting impact on his colleagues at Fraunhofer ITWM. His scientific contributions, ideas, and insights will continue to have an impact far beyond his own work and will continue to shape research in the field of »Materials Simulation« and at Fraunhofer ITWM as a whole.
Our deepest sympathies go out to his family. We mourn the loss of a special colleague and outstanding scientist whom we will miss dearly.
Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM