Eli Fromm, celebrated bioengineering researcher and former vice provost at Drexel, has died at 85

Eli Fromm, 85, formerly of Broomall, celebrated bioengineering researcher, innovative engineering education reformer, former vice president and vice provost at Drexel University, author, inventor, and mentor, died Monday, Jan. 20, at his home in Audubon, Montgomery County, of age-associated ailments and complications after a fall.

An expert in physiological measurements and biotelemetry, Dr. Fromm joined Drexel as an assistant professor in 1967 and, over the next 50 years, provided groundbreaking research on implantable physiological transmitters and sensors, and other bioengineering topics. He also championed new and creative approaches to teaching, and developed the groundbreaking Enhanced Educational Experience for Engineering Students curriculum at Drexel in 1987.

His new curriculum featured earlier hands-on experience and more interdisciplinary training for undergraduate engineers. It sparked the 1992 creation of his national Gateway Engineering Education Coalition with the University of Pennsylvania and eight other institutions, and the group earned more than $28 million in grants from the National Science Foundation over the next 11 years.

“Our engineering students needed to have some early context of why and how engineering fits with the math, the sciences, and the other aspects of their education,” Dr. Fromm said in a 2014 interview with Georgia Tech professor Matthew W. Priddy for the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching at the University of Washington.

William A. Wulf, then president of the National Academy of Engineering, told The Inquirer in 2002 that “Dr. Fromm and his colleagues were among the first and most influential in bringing these kinds of skills into the early part of the engineering curriculum.” Dr. Fromm told The Inquirer: “If presented the right way, those kids can do incredible things.”

He was also the Roy A. Brothers engineering professor emeritus at Drexel, former vice provost for research and graduate studies, interim dean of engineering, interim head of the Biosciences Department, and director of the Center for Educational Research in the College of Engineering. He was active with many organizations and a fellow at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Dr. Fromm wrote dozens of chapters, articles, and papers about engineering and education, and his photo and resume were used in Drexel student recruiting ads in The Inquirer and other publications. He cowrote an engineering textbook, Tools and Tactics of Design, in 2000 and teamed with colleagues in the early 1970s to create and distribute the science- and math-based board game “Solar Bases.”

He earned Drexel’s 2017 Harold M. Myers Award for distinguished service and many other honors, and was elected to the Drexel Alumni Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2002, he earned the inaugural Bernard M. Gordon Prize from the National Academy of Engineering for “innovation that combines technical, societal, and experiential learning into an integrated undergraduate engineering curriculum.”

Dr. Fromm earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering at Drexel, and a doctorate in physiology at what is now the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in 1967. He started as an engineer at the General Electric and DuPont companies in the early 1960s, and later worked for the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, the state House of Representatives, and the National Science Foundation.

Former colleagues affectionately called him E.F. and said he was “inspiring” and “wonderful.” His wife, Dorothy, said: “He was dedicated and responsible.”

Longtime friend and colleague Bruce Eisenstein said: “He was usually the smartest person in the room.” Rabbi Alan D. Fuchs said: “I was in awe not only of his mind but also of his heart and soul.”

“If the people involved really want to make it happen, they will find a way to make it happen.”

Eli Fromm was born May 7, 1939, in Niedaltdorf, Germany. He fled with his family that year to France, England, and then Vineland in South Jersey as World War II was erupting.

His father died when he was in high school, and he turned down a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to attend Drexel and help his mother on the family egg farm. He met Dorothy Gold on a blind date, and they married in 1962 and had sons Steve, Larry, and Richard.

Dr. Fromm was an accomplished carpenter and fix-it man around the family home in Broomall. He remodeled the basement, built the patio roof, and tinkered with countless appliances and TV sets. A stickler for details in everything he did, he enjoyed model trains, peanuts, kosher salami, herring in wine sauce, and gluten-free cookies and chocolate cake.

He was recently involved with the Jewish Interest Group at the Shannondell retirement community in Audubon, and he and his wife honored his parents by funding the Helen and Siegfried Fromm Chapel at the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Jewish Life at Drexel.

“He was always there for us,” said his son Steve. His son Larry said: “He invested in us succeeding.” His son Richard said: “He wanted the best for us.”

In addition to his wife and sons, Dr. Fromm is survived by six grandchildren and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

A graveside service is to be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at Haym Solomon Memorial Park, 200 Moores Rd., Frazer, Pa. 19355. A memorial service is to follow at 7:30 p.m. at the Shannondell retirement community, 10000 Shannondell Dr., Audubon, Pa. 19403.

Donations in his name may be made to Hillel at Drexel University, Box 8215, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101.