The Last Lecture
Pausch's best-known and most accessible work, combining memoir, life lessons, and the material from his celebrated final lecture.
Author guide
Randy Pausch Books in Order
Randy Pausch (1960–2008) was a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University. He co-founded the Entertainment Technology Center and created the Alice programming environment, which introduced programming through interactive 3D animation. He became internationally known for his 2007 Carnegie Mellon lecture, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, and its book adaptation, The Last Lecture, written with Jeffrey Zaslow.
nonfictionmemoircomputer science
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Other (2)
- Learning to Program with Alice
book · 2004
- The Last Lecture
book · 2008
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” —Randy Pausch When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was asked to give a last lecture," he didn’t have to imagine it as…
Frequently asked questions about Randy Pausch
Who was Randy Pausch?
Randy Pausch (1960–2008) was a computer scientist and educator who taught computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University. He became widely known for his 2007 lecture, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”
Sources: cs.cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)cs.cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)
Why is Randy Pausch famous?
Pausch became internationally known for his Carnegie Mellon “Last Lecture,” delivered on September 18, 2007, after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The lecture later became the basis for a bestselling book co-written with Jeffrey Zaslow.
Sources: cs.cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)
What did Randy Pausch do at Carnegie Mellon?
At Carnegie Mellon, Pausch was a professor and co-founder of the Entertainment Technology Center. He also created Alice, an interactive programming environment designed to help beginners learn computer science through animation, games, and stories.
Sources: cs.cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)etc.cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)
What was Randy Pausch’s educational and professional background?
He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Brown University in 1982 and a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon in 1988. He taught at the University of Virginia before returning to Carnegie Mellon as a professor in 2000.
Source: cs.cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)
What is Randy Pausch’s legacy?
Pausch’s legacy includes making computer science more approachable through Alice, which Carnegie Mellon continues to support and develop. His lecture also reached a worldwide audience, and TIME named him one of its 100 most influential people in 2008.
Sources: etc.cmu.edu (opens in a new tab)time.com (opens in a new tab)