KAHALA, Hawaii (KHON2) -- At just 14 years old, Alex Godsey from Kahala is emerging as one of the top young scientists in the country. Check out what's going on around the nation on our National News page His groundbreaking project, inspired by the devastating August 2023 Lahaina wildfires, has earned him a finalist position in the prestigious 2024 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, the nation's premier STEM competition for middle school students. Alex, a former student at Punahou School, is now studying at Phillips Academy Andover, a college-preparatory school in Massachusetts. Whiz Kids: Meet Native Hawaiian Artist & Entrepreneur Leah Dakroub His innovative research focuses on wildfire prevention by studying the flammability of native versus non-native grasses in Hawaii. The deadly wildfires on Maui deeply impacted Alex. "The Lahaina fire was really devastating," he recalled, explaining the critical role grasses played in the fire's spread. This sparked his interest in understanding how different grass types contribute to wildfire risks. In his experiment, Alex simulated flame conditions using a hot plate borrowed from Iolani School, testing three native grasses—Pili grass, Oahu sedge and Mauuakiaki—against three non-native varieties. He heated the grasses to 500 degrees Celsius, measuring the time it took to ignite and how long they burned. His findings were significant: native grasses took an average of 38.6 seconds longer to ignite and burned for 74.1 seconds less than non-native grasses. Alex traced the introduction of non-native grasses back to the arrival of cattle in Hawaii. "The native grasses were too brittle and lacked nutrients, so non-native grasses were brought in," he explained. "This created a tinderbox effect that contributed to the fire's intensity." Find more Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Kauai news here As he prepares to present his findings in Washington, D.C., Alex hopes his research will inspire others to plant native grasses, helping to mitigate wildfire risks in Hawaii. "I'm working on publishing my research in a junior journal to spread my findings and make a bigger impact in fire prevention," he said.