Randy Pausch

About Randy Pausch

Randolph Frederick Pausch was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised
in Columbia, Maryland. He graduated in 1978 from Oakland Mills High
School in Columbia and, in May 1982, received his bachelor's degree in
Computer Science from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. In
August 1988 he earned his Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie
Mellon University. From 1988 - 1997, Dr Pausch worked at University of
Virginia in the computer science department.In 1997 Pausch became a Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer
Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. He co-founded
Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center and became one of the
developers of the software project called "Alice". He authored or
co-authored five books and over 70 articles and is also known for his
virtual reality research with Walt Disney Imagineering. In 2007 he
earned two awards from the Association for Computing Machinery for his
achievements in computing education.In August 2006, Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The
following year he received worldwide media coverage for his
inspirational "Last Lecture," titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood
Dreams." He delivered this lecture at Carnegie Mellon on 18 September
2007, a month after learning that his cancer was terminal and that he
had only three to six months to live. His speech became a New York
Times best-selling book, "The Last Lecture," which he co-wrote with
Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal.Pausch's lecture drew the attention of such programs as ABC's
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (1953) with
Charles Gibson, which named
Pausch their "Person of the Week" on 21 September 2007, and
The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986),
where Pausch discussed his situation and recapped his "Last Lecture"
for millions of television viewers. In May 2008, Pausch was listed by
Time as one of the World's Top-100 Most Influential PeoplePausch also attracted the attention of the National Football League,
which allowed him to join the Pittsburgh Steelers for a day of regular
practice after the organization learned that one of his childhood
dreams mentioned in his "Last Lecture" was to play in the NFL. A
devoted "Star Trek" fan, another of Pausch's childhood dreams was to be
Captain Kirk. Hearing of this, director and producer
J.J. Abrams sent a personal e-mail to
Pausch, inviting him to the set of the film
Star Trek (2009) in Los Angeles. Pausch
happily accepted and was given a brief role in the film, complete with
a customized Starfleet uniform (which he was allowed to keep) and a
line of dialogue. For his time on the film, Pausch received a $217.06
paycheck, which he gave to charity.In May 2008, a PET scan showed that Pausch's cancer had spread to his
lungs and the lymph nodes in his chest. On 24 July, it was revealed
that the cancer had progressed further than expected. The next day
Pausch succumbed to his disease at his family's home in Chesapeake,
Virginia, where he had moved to be with extended family. He is survived
by his wife, Jai Glasgow, and children, Dylan (born 2002), Logan (born
2004) and Chloe (born 2006)....

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