Ross Shachter's research interests are in the modeling of uncertain processes and decision making. His main focus has been the communication and analysis of the relationships among uncertain quantities in a graphical representation called an influence diagram (closely related to a belief network). Professor Shachter's work in medical decision analysis has included management of bladder cancer follow-up and analysis of AIDS Policy therapies. During a leave of absence at Duke University's Center for Health Policy, he was able to bring his interests together to develop an influence diagram-based approach for medical technology assessment. He has been on the Stanford faculty since receiving his PhD in Operations Research from UC Berkeley in 1982.