Randy Pausch, who died on 25 July, 2008, aged 47, was an American University professor who became a worldwide internet phenomenon when he delivered his 'Last Lecture' on the subject of "living life".

Prof Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and, after a year of unsuccessful treatment, given just months to live. In September 2007 he gave a 'Last Lecture', one of a series of talks in which academics were challenged to pass on a hypothetical final message, although in Randy's case there was a good chance it would indeed be his last.

His speech, an impassioned, eloquent and often hilarious paean to 'Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams', was filmed and put onto the internet where Prof Pausch's wise-cracks and life lessons were seen by more than six million people.

Randy Pausch was born on 23 October, 1960. He studied computer science at Brown University on Rhode Island and Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. After he gained his PhD, his mother began introducing him, "This is my son-he's a doctor but not the kind that helps people."

His childhood was one of the key aspects of his lecture and he encouraged parents to nurture their children's ambitions as his had done - he was allowed to cover his bedroom walls in mathematical equations and drawings of rocket ships, a grounding from which he launched a career at the cutting edge of computer technology.

His course on 'Building Virtual Worlds' at CMU led to him working with leading computer game developers Electronic Arts, Disney's Imagineering company and Google. He worked on the 3D software Alice and the hit game The Sims, and wrote five best-selling books on the subject of innovations in computer programming.

During his 'Last Lecture', which he said was written for his three young children, he spoke about the satisfaction he got from teaching young people and sparking their interest in science. "It's not about how to achieve your dreams. It's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you," he said.

The video of his lecture was picked up by television station ABC within a matter of days and Prof Pausch was named its 'Person of the Week'. A month later he was a guest of Oprah Winfrey and numerous other chat show hosts, delivering a summary version of his motivational talk. He was then given a $6.7 million deal to co-write a book called The Last Lecture with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Zaslow.

Ironically, it was only after giving his speech that many of his more far-fetched childhood dreams came true: he was invited to train with the Pittsburgh Steelers, given a cameo role in the new Star Trek film and met Sting at a Police reunion concert.

The 'Last Lecture' turned out to be anything but, with huge audiences attending further speeches and he even addressed Congress to call for greater investment in cancer research. But eventually the disease got the better of him and he died at his home in Virginia 10 months after giving his famous talk.