( CNN ) -- Randy Pausch , the professor whose `` last lecture '' became a runaway phenomenon on the Internet and was turned into a best-selling book , died Friday of pancreatic cancer , Carnegie Mellon University announced on its Web site . Randy Pausch emphasized the joy of life in his `` last lecture , '' originally given in September 2007 . Pausch , 47 , a computer science professor , delivered the lecture , `` Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams , '' at Carnegie Mellon in September 2007 , a month after being told he had three to six months to live because his cancer had returned . The lanky , energetic Pausch talked about goals he had accomplished , like experiencing zero gravity and creating Disney attractions , and those he had not , including becoming a professional football player . He used rejections he was handed when he applied for jobs at Disney to comment on the importance of persistence . `` The brick walls are there for a reason ... to show us how badly we want something , '' he said . `` Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who do n't want it badly enough . They 're there to stop the other people . '' Watch what Pausch did for his wife » . Starting with a joke about `` a deathbed conversion '' -- `` I just bought a Macintosh '' computer -- the educator went on to say that one of his childhood dreams was to write an entry in the World Book Encyclopedia . `` I guess you can tell the nerds early , '' he added . An expert in virtual reality , Pausch did go on to write an encyclopedia entry on the subject . He discussed his fondness for winning stuffed animals at fairs , showed a slide of them , then -- pretending to be concerned his audience would think the image had been digitally manipulated -- produced them onstage . Donning silly costume items like a vest with arrows sticking out of it and a Mad Hatter 's hat , he described working with students as a way to help other people achieve their dreams . He also played down his own importance , saying that after he got a Ph.D. , his mother took to introducing him as `` a doctor , but not the kind who helps people . '' The lecture has been viewed more than 3.2 million times since it was posted on YouTube in December . Pausch co-founded the university 's Entertainment Technology Center and was known for developing interdisciplinary courses and research projects that attracted new students to the field of computer science . He also spent his career encouraging computer scientists to collaborate with artists , dramatists and designers , Carnegie Mellon said . The university 's president , Jared Cohon , described Pausch as `` a brilliant researcher and gifted teacher . '' `` His love of teaching , his sense of fun and his brilliance came together in the Alice project , which teaches students computer programming while enabling them to do something fun -- making animated movies and games , '' Cohon added . `` Carnegie Mellon -- and the world -- are better places for having had Randy Pausch in them . '' Pausch describes Cohon urging him to talk about having fun in his lecture , and telling him it 's difficult because it 's like asking a fish to talk about water . `` I do n't know how not to have fun , '' he said . `` I 'm dying and I 'm having fun . And I 'm going to keep having fun every day I have left . '' Pausch is survived by his wife , Jai , and three children .
Randy Pausch was computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon . His September 2007 ` ` Last Lecture '' became Internet sensation , best-seller . He said that the reason for this is because computers are so much more powerful than humans and they can do things we cannot even imagine.