His doctoral research was focused on the microstructures and properties of natural and synthetic ferrites at Essex University. He conducted research at the National Physical Laboratory in England, investigating issues pertaining to the mechanical and microstructural characterisation of structural and functional ceramics. He serves as a director of Nanoforce Technology Ltd., a company established as a spin-off from QMUL. Nanoforce's objective is to develop innovative processing techniques for nanomaterials with commercial potential.

He established the Ceramic Matrix Composite Forum during his tenure at the National Physical Laboratory (1992-99). He served on the IoM3 Electronics Applications Division Board from 2002 to 2007, and as the inaugural chair of the IoM3 Functional Materials Committee from 2008 to 2012. He is the editor of Advances in Applied Ceramics (2012 onwards) and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Advanced Dielectrics.

Professor Reece has received numerous awards and honours, including the Verulam Medal (2010), the Royal Society Industry Fellowship  (2011-15), the International Prize of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (2018) and the Fellowship of the European Ceramic Society(2019).