As the world becomes ever more reliant on technology, there’s an increasing need for simulations on the path towards innovation. In a race to bring products to market faster and more efficiently, engineers designing everything from safer cars to life-saving medical devices and space exploration vehicles are relying on simulations to anticipate obstacles and explore new concepts swiftly and accurately.

At the World Conference of Science Journalists in October, Nathan Myhrvold, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures,

This was Goettlich’s AHA! moment. As you may guessed, the bumper sticker was a reference to the movie Back to the Future. It’s moments like this, on the highway, driving at speed, that can seem so solitary, but in fact there are opportunities to connect—and with perfect strangers.

To sample the kinds of messages being sent on our roads, Goettlich drove more than 10,000 miles on interstate highways throughout the eastern United States.