SINGAPORE - The fourth Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS) 2016 was officially closed by its patron, President Tony Tan Keng Yam, on Friday.

Twenty one distinguished scientists from all over the world, including 13 Nobel laureates, discussed a broad range of multidisciplinary topics with 300 early-career researchers from 18 different countries and 81 research institutions during the five-day event at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

In his closing speech, President Tan said Singapore has developed multiple paths of success in its school system for young people across different fields, including science and maths.

President Tan also presented the US$100,000 prize for the Singapore Challenge 2016, themed 'sustainable and liveable cities', to Mr Carlos Duarte-Guevara, a fifth-year PhD student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Singapore Challenge offers a platform for GYSS participants to present their research ideas and solutions addressing challenges faced by global cities.

Mr Duarte-Guevara proposed a biosensing system that could detect harmful food-borne pathogens in eight hours, speeding up diagnosis without the need for specialised expertise and facilities. Mr Duarte-Guevara's proposal was among 47 others; only eight made it to the final round.

In conjunction with GYSS, a series of public talks and panel discussions were held at the National Library and various schools and research institutions around Singapore to bring the latest in science and technology to the masses.