Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture on 18 September 2007 to a packed auditorium at Carnegie Mellon University

'Almost all of us have childhood dreams,' he says, 'for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living.  Sadly, most people don't achieve theirs, and I think that's a shame.'

'I had several specific childhood dreams, and I've actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU's Entertainment Technology Center (etc.cmu.edu), of helping many young people actually achieve their childhood dreams.

'This talk will discuss how I achieved my childhood dreams (being in zero gravity, designing theme park rides for Disney, and a few others), and will contain realistic advice on how you can live your life so that you can make your childhood dreams come true, too.'