The Center for Optical Research (CIOp) was created on September 12, 1977 by an agreement between the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), the National University of La Plata (UNLP) and the Laboratory for Materials Testing and Research technology (LEMIT). Its base used to be the Spectroscopy Laboratory, Optics and Laser (LEOL) of the Department of Physics at the Faculty of Sciences of the UNLP, in business since 1965. In 1979, by Decree No. 1476/79 of the Executive Authority of the Province Buenos Aires, the LEMIT is transferred to the Commission for Scientific Research of the Province of Buenos Aires (CIC). The CIC then took the place of LEMIT among the institutions sponsoring the CIOp.

On November 18, 1985, CONICET, UNLP and CIC signed an act of termination of the agreement between them for the creation of Centers and Institutes, by which the CIOp became legally, organizational and administrative dependent of CIC.

On May 2, 1991, CONICET and CIC signed a new cooperation agreement for the operation and development of the Institute, so the CIOp became dependent again on both Institutions. This situation continues to these days.

Over the past 40 years the CIOp has developed a sustained CIOp academic activity and human resources training. This activity can be summarized as follows:

• Publication of over 750 papers in scientific journals and 450 papers in proceedings in national and international conferences.
• Training of more than 40 doctors in physics and engineering and attention to more than 80 scholars from national and foreign universities.
• Organization and delivery of more than 40 postgraduate courses in the CIOp.
• Conducted over 70 courses and seminars at national and foreign universities.
• Reception of more than 170 foreign researchers, holding more than 30 agreements on scientific and technological cooperation with universities and research and development Institutions in the country and abroad.