3D Pioneer Delivers Lecture of a Lifetime

The "Last Lecture Series" is an academic task for some, but computer science prof Randy Pausch - who will live only 3 months with pancreatic cancer - took this talk to be literally his last, the Wall Street Journal reports. Yet he was exuberant as he showed photos of his life and admitted to "a deathbed conversion. I just bought a Macintosh."

Father of three, Pausch is best known for software that allows 3D animations. At this week's lecture, he spoke of a legacy and helping others achieve dreams. Helping students make games without sex or violence showed him how quickly "19-year-old boys [can] run out of ideas." His own kids, all under age 5, will watch the tape one day and hear his closing words: "This was for my kids." (More higher education stories.)