Liviu Librescu, the Virginia Tech professor who died while barricading his classroom door on April 16, has been named Most Inspiring Person of 2007 by Beliefnet.com, a nondenominational spiritual Web site.

Librescu, a 76-year-old Holocaust survivor and professor of engineering science and mechanics, was shot and killed by student gunman Seung-Hui Cho while blocking the door to his Norris Hall class so his students could escape out the windows.

This is the eighth year of the award, which is chosen by a process that involves editors and readers. The award is designed to honor people who lift up and inspire others, said Deborah Caldwell, Beliefnet's managing editor.

"The Beliefnet editors and community seemed to be in great sync on this one," she said of the choice.

Past winners have included the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pa., and passengers aboard United Flight 93 on Sept. 11.

The Web site's readers voted overwhelmingly in favor of Librescu, who received 81 percent of the 93,000 votes cast. Runners-up included Angelina Jolie and Wesley Autrey, the man who saved a stranger who fell onto a New York City subway track. They each received about 4 percent of the vote.

Engineering science and mechanics department head Ishwar Puri said Librescu's actions helped transform the story of April 16 from one of tragedy to one of hope.

"He doesn't get to enjoy it," Puri said of his former colleague. "But it's wonderful for us. ... It's something inspiring that we can seek to be, or live, how Liviu lived in his last moments."

Puri added that another ESM professor, Kevin Granata, died heroically that day. Granata was on the third floor of Norris Hall during the shootings and went down to the second floor after hearing the gunfire.

"Both of them died because they wanted to intervene, they wanted to save lives, they wanted to help people," Puri said.