Undergraduate Student Makenna Colucci’s Pivotal Role in Unraveling a Pipeline Break Investigation: A Story of Analytical Skill and Collaboration

In the midst of a criminal investigation, the FBI enlisted the help of undergraduate student Makenna Colucci at their lab. Colucci was highly recommended for her diligent and enthusiastic approach to analyzing scrape samples of invertebrates and algae from the concrete casing and exposed pipeline. The results of this project were crucial to the investigation into a pipeline break. Colucci felt honored to be a part of such impactful work, collaborating with Page to preserve, analyze, and identify the samples. However, due to confidentiality agreements, they couldn’t reveal their involvement in the investigation or the context of their work.

Working under immense pressure to ensure accurate findings, Colucci and Page carefully examined the data and concluded that barnacles had likely been present for around eight months. This revelation aligned with information gathered from various sources, confirming that anchor drags occurred during a severe storm in January 2021. At that time, there was a backlog of cargo ships at the Port of Los Angeles due to COVID-19 restrictions. To avoid collisions during a storm, some ships dropped anchor but due to poor weather conditions anchors dragged for at least two vessels.