Randy Pausch, Author of "The Last Lecture," Has Died

Professor Randy Pausch, who inspired millions of people with "The Last Lecture" as he fought terminal illness, has died. He was 47 years old.

Pausch suffered from pancreatic cancer, which eventually took his life. Pausch was a Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. (Randy Pausch's Web page at Carnegie Mellon.)

The book "The Last Lecture," which became a New York Times bestseller, arose from a lecture that Pausch gave in September 2007 called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August 2006. In recent months the cancer had spread to his liver, lungs, and spleen.