Built by Ellerbe Associates, it was financed thanks to Edward B. Fitzpatrick, a New York construction executive and 1954 civil engineering graduate.

Today, with its high-tech laboratories, Fitzpatrick Hall is the primary research, teaching, and computer center for the college, while Cushing is primarily used for office space.

Cushing-Fitzpatrick are also home to the newly built Engineering Innovation Hub (EIH), which features state of the art machinery for engineering design and manufacturing, with machinery including automated mills and lathes, 3-D printers, robotics, metrology, computing resource, assembly spaced, water jet cutters and more.

The Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Fabrication laboratory is a 2,000-square-feet offers workspace, equipment, and training for designing and building prototypes for class activities, competitions, service projects, and the like.

Hessert houses the facilities of the Institute for Flow Physics and Control (FlowPAC), one of the world's largest research projects focused on fluid mechanics.