The history of the SMLS begins in 2011 with the first meeting of the Mexican scientists that use synchrotron light along the Mexican Republic. From that time until now, this community has made great efforts to hold periodic meetings throughout a variety of events, with the purpose of increasing the number of users promoting and training more students and researchers to travel and carry out experiments on the synchrotrons around the world.

The first meeting of synchrotron light users established the first organization called the Network  of Synchrotron Radiation Users (REDTULS, Red de Usuarios de Radiación Sincrotrón) that was one of the thematic networks of CONACYT (the National Council of Science and Technology).  The REDTULS can be considered the basis upon which the users created the current scientific society called the Mexican Society of Synchrotron Light, A.C. The venues of the meetings after 2011 where, old meeting were held are: Leon (2012), Cuernavaca (2013), Queretaro (2013), Huatulco (2014), Cuernavaca (2015), Merida (2016), Leon 2017 and the last of the meetings as REDTULS was held in Oaxaca in 2018 together with the IX National Meeting of the Mexican Society of Crystalography, A.C.

During this time, in 2015, there was an initial effort to create the first scientific society, the Mexican Association of Users of Synchrotron Light, A.C., called AMEDUS in Spanish acronym, in order to incorporate all users in a formal scientific society. But due to the lack of practical and technical issues, this society became extinct in 2018 without organizing any event nor having played an important role in consolidating the synchrotron user´s association.

There were about eight meetings from 2011 to 2018. There was a renewed effort made in 2019 to get together these users in a formal long-lasting organization. It was indeed during one of these meetings that the Mexican Society of Synchrotron Light A.C. was founded. This happened during the VI National Diffractometry Meeting and the 1st International Synchrotron Radiation meeting that took place in the City of Pachuca (State of Hidalgo, Mexico) from November 6th to 8th, 2019, in collaboration with the Mexican Society of Crystalography, A.C.

The Mexican Society of Synchrotron Light was born from the need to fill a gap in the Mexican society of synchrotron users, to create a novel society with a high standards of administration and legally established. This society was incorporated into the national Registration Office for Institutions, Scientific and Technological Industries (RENIECYT) of the CONACYT and that was registered to the Internal Revenue Service, IRS (SAT in Spanish acronym).

This legal and administrative status into the SAT would allow this society to organize events, annual meetings, courses and especially to get together all Mexican scientists that use synchrotron light in their research. This scientific society called SMLS, A.C., is the first of its kind in Latin America and will be incorporated to the LightSources Organization in the near future, where 21 synchrotrons of the world are collaborating jointly, with 6 fourth generation synchrotron facilities (called FEL, Free Electron Lasers). Additionally, it gets together 22 organizations from four geographical areas: Europe, Middle East, America and Asia/Australia. There is no any organization within the LightSources Organization from Latin America except Brazil because this country has two synchrotrons. The effort made last November 2019 led and stablished the basis of this society founded on December 9, 2019 to envisage for the future of Mexico in light sources.

The SMLS will hold its first meeting in the Spring of 2021 in a unique meeting version due to the lockdown due to COVID-19. This meeting will be for the first time partially online and partially physical attendance (onlive) with prestigious invited speakers and a lot of attendees from Mexico and around the world.