The Ledge - 'Last Lecture' Professor Randy Pausch Has Died

RIP :distress:

PITTSBURGH (CBS) ― Randy Pausch, who became an Internet sensation with an engaging speech known as "The Last Lecture," has died.

Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, had been battling pancreatic cancer since last year. The university confirmed his death.

"The Last Lecture" YouTube video posted by CMU has been viewed more than 3.2 million times. In it, Pausch advises students how to achieve their childhood dreams by describing the people and experiences that helped him do the same.

The speech spawned a book by the same title, which has spent 14 weeks on the New York Times best seller list.

A post on his official Web site yesterday says Pausch had been "much sicker than he had been. He's now enrolled in hospice."

Pausch was a pioneer in virtual reality and entertainment technology, and worked on ways to teach introductory computer programming to youth. Among his innovations was The Alice Project, an interactive 3-D environment that he said was one of his proudest professional achievements.

He is survived by his wife, Jai, and three children, Dylan, Logan and Chloe.