[5][8] Carr was a worldwide leader in the use of the ultraviolet spectra of organic molecules as a means of investigating their electronic structures.

[9] Carr was the inaugural recipient in 1937 of the Francis P. Garvan Gold Medal of the American Chemical Society (ACS), established "to recognize distinguished service to chemistry by women chemists".

[10] She also received the James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry of the Northeastern Section of the ACS in Spring 1957 (with colleague Mary Lura Sherrill).

[3][5] When her health began to fail her, she was placed in a care home in Evanston, Illinois, closer to her nephew, James Carr, and the rest of her family.

[5] Carr Laboratory was reopened in Fall 2002 after being renovated and rebuilt in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria for green building.