 It was built in 1960 and named after Martin Dewey Whitaker as the metallurgy and chemical engineering building.The Metallurgy Department has since become the Materials Science and Engineering Department, and is now the sole department in the building.Whitaker Lab consists of two major wings, the south wing a two floor section containing three lecture halls and the main entrance to the building, and the north wing, which is five floors high and contains offices, classrooms, and labs.