IN MEMORIAM
Dennis Morian, P.E.
1951-2023
Dennis Morian, P.E., a registered professional engineer, and founding co-owner and secretary for Quality Engineering Solutions, Inc. (QES) passed away on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at his residence surrounded by loved ones. He was active in the pavement engineering field for over 40 years and has left a lasting impact on so many at QES and in the pavement engineering industry.
Dennis Morian was born on September 22, 1951 in Meadville, PA to the late Donald and Pauline (Smith) Morian. He graduated as valedictorian of New Smyrna Beach High School in Florida in 1969, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Dennis was a Registered Professional Engineer in 11 states (Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia) and had over 40 years of highway and transportation experience. This experience included 20 years with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), where he served in a variety of roles including District Pavement Design Engineer, Chief Pavement Engineer, Construction Quality Assurance Engineer and Chief Structural Materials Engineer. Dennis also worked as a Co-Principal Investigator (PI) for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Long-Term Pavement performance contracts in the North Atlantic Region and as a PI for the Western Region. He met and married the love of his life, Sherry Kimmell, in 1994. In 1997, Dennis and Sherry founded QES, which has become a successful full-service pavement engineering and construction inspection company. The couple sold QES in 2021, but Dennis remained active as a consultant to the company until his untimely passing. Dennis was instrumental in the development of quality assurance methods for pavement management data and improved pavement rehabilitation strategies. Over the course of his career, he was active in many associations including TRB, PAPA and several others in both the asphalt pavement and concrete pavement areas. Dennis authored and contributed to over 70 research papers and co-authored the book Construction Quality in the Alternate Project Delivery published by ASCE in 2021.
As the Director of Engineering at QES, Dennis mentored many staff engineers and technicians whose lives and careers were enhanced by his strong leadership.
Dennis will truly be missed.