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Carl is not stupid. He finished a Masters in Political Science [with an emphasis on social history]. For his bachelors he had done History with a minor in Biology [he's always been curious about the world]; and has a sprinkling of Astronomy [because his uni had its own Planetarium and Observatory and he'd dreamed more of the stars than hoops as a boy]. He kind of works an angle to get on Stratt's team. It has everything in one assignment - history, science, someplace-that's-not-behind-a-desk-or-some-political-prick, curiously interesting people, and actual stakes in the game of getting through today to the next day.
So, when Grace calls the Box in a Box an experiment to prove "the Carl Hypothesis", he gets a shiver, then a whole body smile. Hides it well, as befits a Man in Black, but loves it. It's when Grace says "You're working on the paper for this with me" completely seriously that Carl realizes what's happened. This absurd field trip to the home development store has turned into his name on a Science Paper, and he's going to be published.
After the launch, when the let-downs and sorrows and recriminations start, Carl gets a "Congrats!" email from Dr. Li. All it says is, "Whoomp! There it is!" with a screencap of the journal's table of contents, where, mercifully, their paper is titled something much more appropriate than "An Afternoon at the Hardware Store: How Duct Tape and Green Skittles proved the Carl Hypothesis and helped send the Hail Mary to the Stars, or why Science Needs Play to get Anything Meaningful Done" which, completely seriously, Grace had titled their paper when he first showed it around before submitting it. Carl emails Dr. Li back and says, "He really liked you."