History of the Section
Fifteen academic and industrial chemists met on February 15, 1894 in a Recitation Room in Lehigh University's Chandler Laboratory in Bethlehem, PA to form the Lehigh Valley local section of the American Chemical Society, only the fifth such local section at the time. An Executive Committee was nominated and elected consisting of President, William H. Chandler, Secretary, A.H. Welles, Treasurer, Albert L. Colby and member, Clemens Jones. The section agreed to meet monthly, alternating between venues in Bethlehem and Easton. The early membership was both academic and industrial, with many working in both camps. [Founding of LVACS]

125 Years of Growth
LVACS celebrated its 125th anniversary at a Gala Event at Lehigh University on Saturday, March 16, 2019 with District III Director Teri Quinn Gray in attendance. The section has undergone many significant changes over the course of 1 1/4 centuries, including the loss of major chemistry-employing manufacturing industries such as Bethlehem Steel, New Jersey Zinc, Atlas Powder, JT Baker/Mallinckrodt, GAF, Western Electric and the divestiture of the Air Products and Chemicals specialty chemicals businesses. In their place has been a resurgence of small entrepreneurship aided by the presence of a vibrant academic community and several small business incubators, the largest of which is the state-funded Ben Franklin TechVentures. Today, the section numbers over 700 members and is considered a "medium large" ACS section.

LVACS' Awards for Serving our Community
The Lehigh Valley section has provided many leaders to the national organization, including four ACS Presidents. Also, LVACS has been awarded a number of ACS ChemLuminary awards: for best section and for specific activities and events supporting our varied membership.

In 2020, the Da Vinci Science Center of Allentown presented LVACS with its Grand Maestro award given annually to a partner recognized for its substantial contributions to the scientific community and the Center. See the virtual awards ceremony and the presentation of the Pennsylvania State Senate's proclamation.