Bridge On CMU Campus Dedicated To Randy Pausch

CMU professor Randy Pausch gave his last lecture shortly before he died of pancreatic cancer last year.

The lecture was made into a book and has been a big seller.

On Friday night, Pausch’s wife and children were at CMU for the dedication of a pedestrian bridge name in his honor.

The 230-foot-long bridge connects the Gates Center for Computer Science and the Purnell Center for the Arts.

Pausch tried to connect computer science with the arts with his Building Virtual Worlds course.

He encouraged computer scientists and artists to work and learn together.

Pausch’s wife, Jai, said before her husband died he was told the bridge would be named in his honor and she said that his face lit up when he heard the news.

She said now every time she looks at the bridge, she will see her husband’s face.

Several elements of the bridge were inspired by Pausch’s life-affirming last lecture.

On the Gates Center end of the bridge, aluminum screens will cover a brick wall - a metaphor Pausch used throughout his lecture to describe obstacles that stand between people and their dreams.

The bridge also lights up at in colors based on the favorites of Pausch and his wife and children.