Coming to Princeton from Blair Academy, he participated in Theatre Intime and graduated with high honors in philosophy. In 1954 he earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia.
While at Columbia he became interested in computers. In his 10th-reunion bio he wrote that, finding it difficult to get a job in the field of philosophy, he “pretended to be a mathematician” and entered the computer world.
He took a position as a programmer at Rand Corp. He saw a natural connection between his academic work in epistemology and the emerging field of information science. Working as a systems analyst and software engineer, he was responsible for experimental and developmental projects in several fields, particularly computer applications in education. He taught at the University of California, Irvine, and California State University, Fullerton, where he was chairman of the computer science department until retiring in 1992.
He and his wife, Jane, traveled widely, particularly in Scotland, where they had a home, and in China, where he was an adjunct professor at Fudan University in Shanghai.
Chuck is survived by daughters Andrea and Risi, and grandchildren Matthew and Madeleine Vera.