July 25, 2008

Randy Pausch, Computer Scientist Famed for His 'Last Lecture,' Dies

More than a year after he was given six months to live, and after 10 months during which he touched millions over the Internet with his last lecture and helped write a best-selling book about life, illness, and hope, Randy Pausch died today, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Pausch, a computer-science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was 47.

In September 2006, Mr. Pausch was told that he had incurable pancreatic cancer. His last lecture, at Carnegie Mellon in September 2007, about achieving childhood dreams, drew international attention and was viewed by millions on YouTube and elsewhere on the Internet.

It also spawned the book The Last Lecture, written with Jeffrey Zaslow, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Last month Mr. Zaslow told an audience of college officials at The Chronicle’s Executive Leadership Forum that Mr. Pausch had given him information for the book while riding his bicycle. Mr. Pausch donned a headset and spoke to Mr. Zaslow over a couple of months in sessions that totaled 53 hours. He also revealed that Mr. Pausch’s health had deteriorated sharply in recent months.

Mr. Pausch said he felt awkward about his fame, but he did use his influence to lobby Congress for more federal support for pancreatic-cancer research. He also appeared on Oprah and other TV shows. He even got a small role as an extra in a new Star Trek movie.

In his lecture and book, Mr. Pausch talked a lot about the need to have fun in life. “I mean I don’t know how to not have fun. I’m dying and I’m having fun. And I’m going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there’s no other way to play it,” he said in his Carnegie Mellon lecture. “You just have to decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eeyore. I think I’m clear where I stand on the great Tigger/Eeyore debate.”

In honor of Mr. Pausch, Carnegie Mellon plans to name a footbridge after him. The bridge will connect the university’s Gates Center for Computer Science with the Purnell Center for the Arts. Hilary Robinson, a university dean, told The Chronicle that the bridge symbolizes Mr. Pausch’s commitment to an interdisciplinary approach to computer-science education.

Today Mr. Pausch’s home page at Carnegie Mellon could not be opened, probably because it was overwhelmed with traffic from all over the Internet. —Josh Fischman

Comments

1. We have lost a great influence in our lives.Those of you who personally knew and loved Randy have received a great blessing. Please continue to carry his message of love, caring and teaching others the way of life. Glod bless Randy, his dear family and friends!! Shirley Horning

   — Shirley Horning    Jul 25, 03:06 PM    #

2. This is a loss to the world; but while I’m glad his battle is over I am so very heartbroken for the one his wife and children have only just begun.

   — Grief Researcher    Jul 25, 03:08 PM    #

3. There are countless thousands like him out there. He would want them to step forward and make themselves known.

   “Dream as if you will live foreve; live as if you could die today.” James Dean.

   — Bobby Winters    Jul 25, 03:35 PM    #

4. Thanks, Randy, for reminding me that each semester is a gift from God and I must never take for granted the lives I touch in and out of the classroom.

   — William Harle, Jr.    Jul 25, 04:26 PM    #

5. Randy’s life and words have moved so many. I’m happy to have recommended his book to several of my students as they made their transition out of college.

   — Pat Taylor    Jul 25, 04:33 PM    #

6. Dr. Randy Pausch was an inspiration who transcended the academic world in which he thrived, and touched millions with his honesty, compassion, and passionate lessons about life. He taught countless people about relationships, humanity, and how to live. What greater legacy can someone leave behind? I’m going to go home and hug my family. That’s what Randy Pausch would want us all to do. God bless his family as they endure the loss of a loving and treasured father, husband, and son.

   — Robert Williams    Jul 25, 04:36 PM    #

7. I read The Last Lecture in one day; I will remember it for a lifetime.

   — JoAnn Rolle    Jul 25, 04:46 PM    #

8. I just read Randy’s book this weekend and was deeply moved. Godspeed Randy and I will pray for your family, friends and students.

   — AW    Jul 25, 04:48 PM    #

9. :-(

   — Deborah    Jul 25, 05:02 PM    #

10. I just started reading The Last Lecture earlier this week. I’ve been allowing myself a couple of chapters at bedtime, so I’m going slowly through it to savor it. I admire Randy’s outlook on life and I wish we all could be more like that as continue to work in Academia. My thoughts and sympathy are with his family and his friends. I wish I’d known him, too. His legacy extends far beyond “Alice”!

    — kim    Jul 25, 07:12 PM    #

11. Each time I have read about Randy’s life and his “Last Lecture”, I recognized his deeply caring and wise philosophy of life. He was a blessing to all he touched directly in his life, and to those of us he touched indirectly through his lecture and book. May his family receive the love and support they need at this moment of loss. And may they remember, as I told my younger brother as he died of cancer at age 47, that he will always be alive in their hearts.

    — Rick    Jul 25, 07:23 PM    #

12. May his soul rest in heaven. He was a living legend whose contributions to life were celebrated while he was still alive. He lived a great short life. Glory to God and angels in heaven.

    — Blessed Amos    Jul 25, 09:35 PM    #

13. Randy Pausch has totally changed my life. I am a research administrator at a major university and his inpiration has moved me to become a Tigger! We should all strive to live by his example. God bless his family during the coming days and weeks.

    — Colette    Jul 25, 11:04 PM    #

14. My husband and I were inspired by Randy Pausch’s last lecture so we listened to it again (on the Internet) with our kids as an ‘activity’ during our special family-bondiing vacation. Dr. Pausch said so many wonderful things that I wanted my kids to hear, and it was wonderful to experience his lecture together as a family. Wish I had written to tell him that his lecture competed well with sunsets and bike-rides on the beach – I think he would have liked knowing that.

    — Rena    Jul 27, 02:30 PM    #

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