Randy Pausch was a Professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. From 1988-1997, he taught at the University of Virginia. He was an award-winning teacher and researcher, and worked with Adobe, Google, Electronic Arts (EA), and Walt Disney Imagineering, and pioneered the Alice project.

Pausch was asked to deliver his "Last Lecture," a series designed to examine the final lessons speakers would impart when facing their own mortality. For Pausch, the topic was anything but hypothetical. The inspirational lecture Randy Pausch delivered, entitled Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams became an instant sensation and resonated with people around the globe.

Randy Pausch lost his cancer battle on July 25, 2008; however, his legacy lives on through The Last Lecture.