Randy Pausch, Author of "The Last Lecture"

Professor Randy Pausch, whose "Last Lecture" video and best-selling book touched the hearts of millions of people around the world this year, has been named Beliefnet's Most Inspiring Person of the Year for 2008.

Prof. Pausch lost his valiant battle with pancreatic cancer this past July, and in the last months of his life, the video of his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University became an Internet phenomenon.

An exclusive tribute gallery by Jeffrey Zaslow, co-author of Pausch's book can be found at www.beliefnet.com/mostinspiringperson2008.

Claire Yezbak Fadden is the Associate Editor of LifeAfter50.com.