Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch
Born	Randolph Frederick Pausch (1960-10-23)October 23, 1960 Baltimore,Maryland,U.S.
Died	July 25, 2008(2008-07-25)(aged 47) Chesapeake, Virginia,U.S.
Cause of death	Pancreatic cancer
Alma mater	Brown UniversityB.S.'82, Carnegie Mellon UniversityPhD.'88
Known for	Creator ofAlicesoftware project Cofounder of CMU's Entertainment Technology Center virtual reality The Last Lecture
Spouse	Jai Glasgow
Children	3
Awards	Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award ACMSpecial Interest Group on Computer Science Education Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computer Science Education Fellow of theACM Time'sTime 100
Scientific career
Fields	Computer science Human–computer interaction
Institutions	Carnegie Mellon University University of Virginia
Doctoral advisor	Alfred Spector
Doctoral students	Ken Hinckley,Caitlin Kelleher,Desney Tan

Randolph Frederick Pausch(/paʊʃ/) (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American educator, a professor ofcomputer science,human–computer interaction,and design atCarnegie Mellon University(CMU) inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Pausch learned he hadpancreatic cancerin September 2006. In August 2007, he was given a terminal diagnosis: "three to six months of good health left". He gave an upbeat lecture titled, "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon, which became a popularYouTubevideo and led to other media appearances. He co-authored a book of the same name,The Last Lecture,which became aNew York Timesbest-seller.

Pausch died of complications from pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008, aged 47.

Early life

Randolph Frederick Pausch was born inBaltimore, Maryland,and grew up inColumbia, Maryland.After graduating fromOakland Mills High Schoolin Columbia, Pausch received his bachelor's degree in computer science fromBrown Universityin May 1982 and his PhD in computer science fromCarnegie Mellon Universityin August 1988.While completing his doctoral studies, Pausch was briefly employed atXerox Palo Alto Research CenterandAdobe Systems.

Computer science career

Pausch was an assistant and associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at theUniversity of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science from 1988 until 1997. While there, in 1995, he completedsabbaticalsatWalt Disney ImagineeringandElectronic Arts(EA).In 1997, Pausch became Associate Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1998, he was a co-founder, along withDonald Marinelli,of CMU'sEntertainment Technology Center(ETC), and he began the Building Virtual Worldscourse at CMU, which he taught for 10 years. He consulted withGoogleonuser interfacedesign and also consulted withPARC,Imagineering, andMedia Metrix.Pausch is also the founder of theAlicesoftware project.He received theNational Science FoundationPresidential Young Investigator Awardand was a Lilly Foundation Teaching Fellow.Pausch was the author or co-author of five books and over 70 articles. Pausch received two awards fromACMin 2007 for his achievements in computing education: the Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award and the ACMSpecial Interest Group on Computer Science EducationAward for Outstanding Contributions to Computer Science Education.

"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"

Main article:Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Pausch delivered his "Last Lecture", titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", at CMU on September 18, 2007.He gave an abridged version of his speech onThe Oprah Winfrey Showin October 2007.The talk was modeled after an ongoing series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk", with a topic such as "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?" Before speaking, Pausch received a long standing ovation from a large crowd of over 400 colleagues and students. When he motioned them to sit down, saying, "Make me earn it", someone in the audience shouted back, "You did!"

During the lecture, Pausch offered inspirational life lessons, and performed push-ups on stage. He also commented on the irony that the "Last Lecture" series had recently been renamed as "Journeys", saying, "I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it."After Pausch finished his lecture, Steve Seabolt, on behalf ofElectronic Arts—which is now collaborating with CMU in the development of Alice 3.0—pledged to honor Pausch by creating a memorial scholarship for women in computer science, in recognition of Pausch's support and mentoring of women in CS and engineering.

CMU presidentJared Cohonspoke emotionally of Pausch's humanity and called his contributions to the university and to education "remarkable and stunning".He then announced that CMU will celebrate Pausch's impact on the world by building and naming after Pausch a raised pedestrian bridgeto connect CMU's new Computer Science building and the Center for the Arts, symbolizing the way Pausch linked those two disciplines. Brown University professorAndries van Damfollowed Pausch's last lecture with a tearful and impassioned speech praising him for his courage and leadership, calling him a role model.

The Last Lecture

Main article:The Last Lecture

Then-Disney-owned publisherHyperionpaid $6.7 million for the rights to publish a book about Pausch calledThe Last Lecture,co-authored by Pausch andWall Street JournalreporterJeffrey Zaslow.The book became aNew York Timesbest-seller on April 28, 2008.The Last Lectureexpands on Pausch's speech. The book's first printing had 400,000 copies, and it has been translated into 46 languages. It has spent more than 85 weeks on theNew York Timesbestseller list, and there are now more than 4.5 million copies in print in the U.S. alone. Despite speculation that the book would be made into a movie, Pausch had denied these rumors, stating that "there's a reason to do the book, but if it's telling the story of the lecture in the medium of film, we already have that."

Media coverage

Pausch was named "Person of the Week" onABC'sWorld News with Charles Gibsonon September 21, 2007.His "Last Lecture" attracted wide attention from the international media,became an Internet hit, and was viewed over a million times in the first month after its delivery.On October 22, 2007, Pausch appeared onThe Oprah Winfrey Showwhere he discussed his situation and summarized his "Last Lecture".On October 6, 2007, Pausch joined thePittsburgh Steelersfor the day during their regular practice, after the organization learned that one of his childhood dreams mentioned in his "Last Lecture" was to play in theNFL. On April 9, 2008, theABCnetwork aired an hour-longDiane Sawyerfeature on Pausch titled "The Last Lecture: A Love Story For Your Life".On July 29, 2008, ABC aired a follow-up to the Last Lecture special, remembering Pausch and his famous lecture.

Other lectures and appearances

Pausch gave a lecture abouttime managementon November 27, 2007, at the University of Virginia, to an audience of over 850 people.In March 2008, Pausch appeared in a public service announcement videoand testified before Congress in support of cancer research.On May 18, 2008, Pausch made a surprise return appearance at Carnegie Mellon, giving a speech at the commencement ceremony,as well as attending the School of Computer Science's diploma ceremony,and on May 19 Pausch appeared on the showGood Morning America.His lecture, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams",was nominated at the 2007YouTubeVideo Awards.

A devotedStar Trekfan, Pausch was invited by film directorJ. J. Abramsto film a role inStar Trek.Abrams heard of Pausch's condition and sent a personal e-mail inviting Pausch to the set. Pausch accepted and traveled toLos Angeles, California,to shoot his scene. In addition to appearing in the film, he also has a line ofdialogueat the beginning of the film ( "Captain, we have visual." ) and donated the $217.06 paycheck to charity.

Cancer and death

Pausch was diagnosed withpancreatic cancerand underwent aWhipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy)on September 19, 2006, in an attempt to halt the disease.He was told in August 2007 to expect three to six months of good health remaining. He moved his family toChesapeake, Virginia,to be close to his wife's family. On March 13, 2008, Pausch advocated for more federal funding for pancreatic cancer before theUnited States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.In the week prior to his testimony, he had been hospitalized for needle aspiration ofpleural effusionin his right lung.

On May 2, 2008, apositron emission tomography(PET) scan showed that he had tiny (5 millimetres (0.20 in) or less)metastasesin his lungs and in some of thelymph nodesin his chest. He also had metastases in hisperitonealandretroperitonealcavities. On June 26, 2008, Pausch announced that he was considering halting chemotherapy due to its potential adverse side effects. He was, however, considering someimmuno-therapy-basedapproaches.On July 24, on behalf of Pausch, a friend anonymously posted a message on Pausch's webpage stating that a biopsy had revealed that the cancer had progressed farther than recent PET scans showed, and that Pausch had "taken a step down" and was "much sicker than he had been". The friend also stated that Pausch had enrolled in ahospiceprogram for end of lifepalliative care.

Pausch died from pancreatic cancer at his family's home inChesapeake, Virginia,on July 25, 2008, at the age of 47.

On October 30, 2009, The Randy Pausch Memorial Footbridge was dedicated in aribbon-cutting ceremony led by Pausch's wife Jai and their three children Dylan, Logan, and Chloe.

Jai Pausch published a memoir in 2012,Dream New Dreams: Reimagining My Life After Losswhere she recounted Randy's life and her time as his caretaker in his last years. Her book has received criticism for how she handled the death of her husband.

Honors

• The Pittsburgh City Council declared November 19, 2007 to be "Dr. Randy Pausch Day".
• In May 2008, Pausch was listed byTimeas one of theWorld's Top-100 Most Influential People.
• Randy was named Pittsburgher of the Year 2008.
• On May 30, 2008, Randy received a letter from then-PresidentGeorge W. Bushthanking him for his commitment to the Nation's youth.
• On February 4, 2009, The Walt Disney Company dedicated a tribute plaque at Walt Disney World near the "Mad Tea Party" attraction with a quote by Randy that reads "Be good at something; it makes you valuable... Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome."
• The Walt Disney Company also created the Disney Memorial Pausch Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University, which will support two graduate students.
• PerJared Cohon's announcement on the day of the Last Lecture, a raised pedestrian bridge atCMUthat connects the Gates Computer Science building and the Purnell Center for the Arts is named after Pausch, symbolizing the way he linked the two disciplines.

Other publications

• Adding input and output to the transactional model(Research paper, CMU), 1988
• Dann, Wanda P.; Cooper, Stephen; Pausch, Randy (July 25, 2005).Learning to Program with Alice.Prentice Hall.ISBN0-13-187289-3.

External links

• Quotations related toRandy Pauschat Wikiquote
• Randy Pausch's Home PageatCarnegie Mellon University
• News about Randy Pauschat theUniversity of Virginia
• The Online Legacy of Professor Pauschby Tara Parker-Pope from the New York Times on July 27, 2008
• Randy Pausch's PublicationsonGoogle Scholar
• Randy PauschatIMDb

Videos

• The last lecture of Randy PauschonYouTube
• The last lecture of Randy Pausch at iTunes U
• "Time Management" by Randy Pausch, November 2007atGoogle Video(presentation slides)
• Randy Pausch addressing the CMU 2008 graduating class
• Randy Pausch on Good Morning America, May 19, 2008
• Randy Pausch's five second Star Trek cameoonYouTube