Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

Randy Pausch, the Carnegie-Mellon computer science professor whose "last lecture" became a viral hit on the Internet, has died. The news is here, but I won't get into the details of his death. More important are the details of his life. They go far beyond his research in the field of virtual reality and virtual worlds -- he was a fantastic teacher to his students, his children, and, thanks to the online video that CMU posted last year, millions of people all over the world.

If you have a little free time, and you haven't seen it, I urge you to watch what Randy had to say in his last lecture at CMU to his colleagues, current and former students, and his wife, after he knew his cancer was terminal. "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" is not a downer, but rather has an inspirational and uplifting message. Pausch weaved together the strands of his work and personal life in a very special way, and there are lessons for everyone. Here's the video, from last September:

The heroes of the tech world are usually coders and entrepreneurs, who are judged by the products that they design and the businesses that they start. Randy made some major contributions to his field (such as overseeing the development of the 3D programming environment, Alice) but it is his accomplishments as a human being that make him a true hero.

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.

Randy Pausch dies, and the world loses a true hero

Ian Lamont — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:39 -0400

We'll miss you, Randy.