My Personal Home Page
Channing Brown

After 24 years living and working in central New Jersey, I relocated back to Illinois in 2006, specifically to Champaign, home of the University of Illinois. In 2017, I moved to Chicago to try "big city" life, and as of late 2021, I'm settling in West Chester, PA.

Some of my interests ...

• Alumni activities -- I was active for many years in the New York chapter of the Illinois alumni association. Here is a little tribute page listing some of my favorite things about my alma mater.
• Scrabble -- I have participated in local Scrabble clubs in Champaign and the Chicago area. More information.
• Jazz -- If you live in the New York area, try WBGO 88.3 FM. (I used to listen to WQCD 101.9 FM, but I believe it is no longer a jazz station.) If you live in Champaign, go to Krannert, and check out this list of C-U jazz events. In Chicago, I have been a frequent patron of Winter's Jazz Club.
• Puzzles -- I frequently do the crossword puzzles in the New York Times. I used to do Sudoku puzzles here.
• Illini women's volleyball and men's tennis.

... and in the past ...

• Bicycling -- I enjoyed several wonderful inn-to-inn bicycling trips with Bike Vermont starting in 1985 (and once, in 2008, with Backroads Travel). They choose great inns, with lots of good food, and provide guides and a van to carry baggage from inn to inn. It's a wonderful way to get out and see a place.
• Tennis -- For many years, I was involved in running the tennis club at work, where we had a challenge ladder every season, and occasional tournaments and tennis parties. I've written an essay describing my experiences running the tennis club. [Also see the Greencourt Software reference below.] For those living near New York, it's also convenient to attend the U. S. Open, which I have done several times over the years.
• OLLI -- When I lived in Champaign, I attended lectures and other events, and took classes, through the OLLI program associated with our campus.

Volunteer activities (when I lived in Champaign) ...

• Mentor for students in the Illinois Promise scholarship program, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college (since 2009).
• Volunteer usher -- at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (since 2006).
• Exhibits judge at Engineering Open House (since 2008).
• Host/chauffeur for invited guests at the Ebertfest film festival (since 2013).
• Conversation Partner for students in the Intensive English Institute (IEI), and for entering freshmen in the IEI Transitions summer program (since 2012).
• Mentor in the Illinois Leadership Center program (since 2014).

A brief professional résumé ...

• BS, computer science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1980
• MS, computer science, University of California at Berkeley, 1982
• Senior software engineer at Telcordia Technologies (formerly known as Bellcore, and before that, Bell Labs -- before the 1984 Bell System breakup), 1982 - 2005.
• Off and on for some years (from 1996 to 2013), I developed and sold some sports and recreation software, as Greencourt Software.
• From November 2007 through September 2008, I was again doing some part-time software development work (telecommuting!) for Telcordia Technologies.
• From January 2009 to March 2013, I was working part-time for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), which is on campus at the University of Illinois, primarily writing software to support a research project.
• Now -- retired!

And finally ...

• Politics -- I hate politics, but I guess it's hard to avoid. Everyone who values the American dream of individual liberty should check out the alternative to the Republicans and Democrats -- the Libertarian Party. Also visit the Cato Institute. You can learn more about your political philosophy by taking the "World's Smallest Political Quiz".

Send me e-mail! If you would like to send me e-mail, please contact me through the Greencourt Software website. Thanks!