In memoriam: Professor Emeritus Peter Carr (1944-2025)
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (1/30/2026) – Distinguished University Teaching Professor Emeritus Peter Carr passed away on December 20, 2025, at the age of 81. Carr retired from the Department of Chemistry in December 2023, following a 47-year career as a University of Minnesota faculty member. Carr is remembered as a well-respected innovator in analytical chemistry, a dedicated teacher, and a spirited mentor.
Carr was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 16, 1944. His love for science was sparked at a young age, leading him to the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1961. Under the advisement of Prof. Louis Meites – a well-known electroanalytical chemist, and scientific grandchild of UMN’s own Prof. Izaak Maurits Kolthoff – Carr studied polymer chemistry. He went on to attend The Pennsylvania State University for his graduate studies, where he was advised by Prof. Joseph Jordan. After completion of his PhD in 1968, Carr pursued an analytical biochemistry postdoctoral research position at Stanford University Medical School, where he worked with Prof. David Glick in the Department of Pathology.
In 1969, Carr returned to the east coast for his first faculty appointment in 1969. He started his professorial career as an Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia (UGA). Carr’s early teaching experiences at UGA led him to discover his interest in chromatography, the subfield that he would ultimately become known for. His research at the time was focused on thermochemical methods of analysis and bioanalytical chemistry. He was granted his first patent in 1974, for a novel blood coagulation timer he developed with graduate student William Bostick.
Upon his arrival in Minnesota in 1977, Carr sought out seven of the top Twin Cities researchers in chromatography including leading scientists from UMN, 3M, General Mills, Pillsbury and other local companies. Together the group started the Minnesota Chromatography Forum, of which Carr served as the first president. Over the course of his four decades at the University of Minnesota, Carr investigated a variety of areas of analytical chemistry including electrochemistry, ion selective electrodes, thermochemistry, immobilized enzymes, and chromatography. Department Head Prof. Christy Haynes remembers Carr as an important figure in their shared subfield:
“When I started my faculty career at UMN, Pete Carr was the most well-known analytical chemist in the department. Still, I hadn't had the opportunity to meet him during my interview because he had been out with a medical issue. In full "imposter syndrome"-mode, I secretly wondered whether I would have gotten the job if he'd been involved, because I had heard from many that he had high standards for analytical chemists and was honest and direct in his critiques. In fact, those characteristics that had me worried are exactly what made Pete an excellent chemist, colleague, and mentor. It was Pete who came to my office to say that I needed to go up for tenure early (even though he thought I did "too much storytelling" in my seminar talks). The sentiments shared by Pete's colleagues and all of his many mentees, both at his birthday symposium in August 2025 and after his death, all spoke to his clear, pragmatic guidance as career-determining and life-changing. Pete had a clear vision and mission for all of the people lucky enough to work with him. We are all better chemists for having had him in our community, and I am confident that his influence will persist for many years to come.”
Some of his most cited, most collaborative, and most patented work related to the chemistry of zirconia and its use in chromatography. Carr's inspiration to work with zirconia in a liquid chromatography context was sparked during the years he served as a consultant to 3M, from 1979-1990. He went on to develop a variety of zirconia-based technologies with his research group and collaborators at 3M. Fifteen of his 20 patents are related to zirconia; his success in this application of separation science led to the creation of ZirChrom Separations, Inc. in 1995. After more than 45 years on the Department of Chemistry faculty, Carr retired in December 2023.
Carr’s distinction as a chemist was recognized a number of times during his career. His numerous awards included the Eastern Analytical Symposium (EAS) Award in the Fields of Analytical Chemistry (1993), the American Chemical Society Award in Chromatography (1997), the EAS Award for Outstanding Achievements in Separation Science of the (2000), the American Chemical Society Award in Analytical Chemistry (2009), A.J.P. Martin Gold Medal of the Chromatographic Society, United Kingdom (2010), and the LCGC Lifetime Achievement Award (2013).
In addition to his research successes, Carr is remembered as a well respected and beloved teacher. He mentored over 100 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, his career, many of whom gathered on campus in summer 2025 to belatedly celebrate Carr’s 80th birthday and his lifetime of academic and professional achievements. His influence on the chemistry community at the University of Minnesota and beyond is remembered by Profs. Edgar Arriaga and Philippe Buhlmann:
“Remembering Pete would not be complete without mentioning that Pete was a great storyteller. I experienced that many times, from the early stages of my career when Pete joined me (and often Marian Stankovich) for lunch at Coffman Union, until his last years at the University, when walking became more difficult for him and I would go over to Walter Library to get him coffee and one of those apple fritters that he loved so much. Having started at the University 23 years before me, Pete had a seemingly endless supply of stories about things that had happened in the department before my arrival. Quite a number of those stories had to do with Prof. Kolthoff, whom Pete admired and whom he assisted in his later years in various ways until Kolthoff’s death in 1993. I remember one conversation regarding Prof. Kolthoff in particular. Pete’s regular Uber driver had her day off, and Pete asked me to drive him after dinner to Regions Hospital in Saint Paul so that he could visit Leah, his first wife. As so often on those trips, I prepared for class the next day while waiting in the car in front of the hospital. On the way back to Pete’s home, the conversation turned to the question of why Prof. Kolthoff has had such an enormous impact on analytical chemistry in the United States and beyond. I expected that Pete, with his encyclopedic memory, would give me a list of research achievements, but his answer was very different: “It is not the science, it is the people.” Pete not only understood that, he lived it. Nobody knows this better than his students and co-workers, who always went to great lengths to take opportunities to reunite with Pete, whether at a big conference or for a birthday celebration. We all realize that Pete has had an enormous impact on our lives, and Pete made us understand that he cared for us as humans, and not just as scientists.” – Phillippe Buhlmann
“When I joined the University of Minnesota as a new Assistant Professor, I quickly realized just how much there was to learn to do this job well—and eventually earn promotion. From teaching, to running a research group, to writing grants and papers, the learning curve felt steep. Through those early years of my independent career, Pete’s coaching and mentoring were always there for me. For that, I remain eternally grateful.
In the last few years, I often enjoyed cycling by Pete and Mary’s home—sometimes just to chat, sometimes to ask for advice about teaching. One of those conversations truly touched me. We talked about career paths and the importance of the choices we make. Pete reminded me that if we choose the faculty path, it’s because teaching and mentoring allow us to have a powerful, positive influence on people’s lives. Pete embodied that belief. He did so through his mentoring, his teaching, and his selfless career guidance to colleagues.
Pete truly cared about people. His impact will live on through all of us he guided, supported, and inspired. Pete was a people person—someone who shaped many lives and believed deeply in the power of being human. May his legacy live with us for many years to come.” – Edgar Arriaga
Carr’s excellence in teaching and mentorship was honored multiple times during his tenure. He was named a Distinguished University Teaching Professor in 2002 for his outstanding contributions to graduate education and received the J. Calvin Giddings Award for Excellence in Education from the American Chemical Society in 2013. Carr was also recognized in the Mentor category of the Analytical Scientist’s Power List in 2017 and 2023.
In a 2013 interview Carr wrote:
“I have been blessed with a tremendous number of really excellent students. Quite a few of them have gone very far in their careers and have had a major role in analytical chemistry in the United States, both in industry and in their own academic careers. They have had a huge impact on the research that had been done frequently determining its direction and depth. I know in the long run, I have learned more from them than they have from me.”
In lieu of flowers, the Carr family requests memorial donations may be directed to the Professor Peter Carr Fund Dedicated to Graduate Education.