Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose last lecture, titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” became a viral video on YouTube, died today at the age of 47 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Doctors told Pausch last August that his cancer, which was in remission, had recurred and that he would live only three to six months longer.
A month after hearing the dreadful news, on September 18, 2007, Pausch delivered the lecture that would become his legacy. He regaled students and colleagues with a tour that was both heart-wrenching and amusing of his attempts to live out his childhood fantasies. Some he managed to pull off: experiencing zero-gravity, helping to design attractions for Disney World by participating in its Imagineering program and writing an entry in the World Book encyclopedia–on virtual reality, his expertise. Others didn’t come true, such as becoming a pro football player. He alluded to teaching as a way of helping students live out their dreams. [source Scientific American]
Inspirational and creative man. Condolences to all who knew and loved him.
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