Erwin Schwab is a German amateur astronomer who works at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung and has discovered and co-discovered many asteroids.Schwab was born in Heppenheim, where he started observing minor planets at the Starkenburg Observatory in 1981. One which he discovered is named after his parents, Elfriede and Erwin Schwab. Schwab has discovered asteroids from the Starkenburg, Tzec Maun and Taunus observatories. Others are named for Frankfurt, Darmstadt, and FAIR. He is co-discoverer of the potentially hazardous asteroid 2009 DM45.The Observatorio Astronómico de La Sagra in Spain has named the Minor planet number 185638 in honour of Erwin Schwab.