Randy Pausch (1960-2008) was an American professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was born on October 23, 1960, in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned his bachelor's degree in computer science from Brown University and his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon. Pausch became widely known for his "Last Lecture," titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," which he delivered in September 2007 after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. The lecture, which was intended to inspire his students and leave a legacy for his children, became a viral sensation and led to a best-selling book of the same name. Throughout his career, Pausch made significant contributions to the fields of virtual reality and human-computer interaction. He co-founded CMU's Entertainment Technology Center and developed the "Building Virtual Worlds" course. He also created the Alice software project, which teaches programming through storytelling. Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008. His inspirational message and contributions to education and technology continue to impact many today.