David Reid joined the faculty of the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis in 1981, recruited to perform fundamental research into the freezing process. He retired in 2008 but remained very active in the food science profession. 

Reid held BSc and PhD degrees in Chemistry from the University of Glasgow, with his specialization being in Physical Chemistry. After a 1 year post-doctoral stint at SUNY-Buffalo, he returned to the UK, spending 13 years as a research scientist with Unilever Research. His focus was the physical chemistry of water in food systems, with a particular focus on freezing. On joining UC Davis, he maintained this focus of understanding the physical chemistry of the role of water in foods, looking both at food freezing and clarifying the factors which influence both frozen storage stability and at the effect of water removal in the concentration process. He was an active participant in the International Symposium on the Properties of Water (ISOPOW), where the role of water in foods and pharmaceuticals is the theme of the discussions. 

Reid received significant research support from industry, and served for many years on scientific advisory committees for AFFI (American Frozen Food Institute) and GCCA (Global Cold Chain Alliance). He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture since 1999. 

Reid was a Fellow of IFT and IAFoST (International Academy of Food Science and Technology). In 2007, AFFI presented him with a career leadership award, and he is the 2012 recipient of the Frozen Food Foundation Freezing Research Award. 

He was at home when he passed away, surrounded by Joyce, his wife of 51 years, and his two sons, Gavin and Andrew. Dr. Reid had suffered a stroke on July 28th and had been in hospice care at home.