The Internet sensation Randy Pausch, creator of the Alice programming environment and author of "The Last Lecture" best-seller book has died of pancreatic cancer on Friday, at only 47 years of age in his home in Virginia.

Pausch created the free Alice programming environment that helps children learn object oriented programming in preparation for languages such as C#, C++ and Java. He also wrote a book entitled "The Last Lecture" after the news of his incurable illness in September 2007 in which he talked about the wisdom that one can leave to the world if given one last chance. The book was translated in over 30 languages and it leaped to the top of all non-fiction writings where it remains today.

He was also a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon in Pennsylvania where a footbridge was now named in his honor, and he was also honored by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences of California, who announced the creation of the Dr. Randy Pausch Scholarship Fund, meant to support university students who pursue a career in sofware development.