The Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University was founded by Dr. David Carroll (founding Director), Dr. Rick Matthews (Chair Department of Physics), and Dr. Mark Welker (Vice Provost for Research) by the signing of its MOU in 2004. Dr. S. Roth, Dr. W. Blau, Dr. G. Wallace, Dr. P.M. Ajayan, Dr. P. Santago, and Dr. A. Rubio formed the original advisory board of the Center and still serve. The internal operating board was originally: formed by 1 representative from Physics, 1 chaired professor from a science department and the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement. It has since been expanded to include a representative from Chemistry.

The Center's main facility at 501 Deacon Blvd. was renovated in 2004 and the Center began operations in september of that year. The building was the first in North Carolina to be designed exclusively for use with Nanotechnology. The inner "skin" of the building is grounded to provide a building-wide faraday cage for electronic isolation. The floating slab floor system provides for excellent vibration isolation. Air-flow balance in the building is managed through a system of three external air handlers.