Professor Zhang is a tenured Full Professor with the Department of Real Estate and Construction, Faculty of Architecture and has a joint appointment with Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality (ICCN), at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). She received B.B.A in Business Administration, M.S. in Resource Management, and PhD. in Engineering Management and Economics (Hong Kong).

In 2022, Prof. Zhang has been listed as Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in Cross-Field. She has also been listed as Stanford’s top 2% most highly cited scientists in Environmental Engineering Field since 2020.

Prof. Zhang’s research is primarily centered around understanding the intricate relationship between humans and the built environment, with a focus on tackling significant challenges such as urban and industrial ecology, energy, pollution, and the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Initially, her research delved into areas such as green building, real estate, and enterprise-scale sustainability. And in recent years, her research interests have shifted towards exploring affordable yet effective ‘net zero’ technologies and systems, including renewable energy systems and clean energy technologies.

Prof. Zhang employs system thinking approach to understand the interactions and challenges within human and environmental systems. She begins by utilizing quantitative modeling to gain insight into these interactions and challenges. By understanding the underlying mechanisms at play, she then devises policy and governance interventions aimed at mitigating these challenges. To enrich research in sustainable built environments, Prof. Zhang incorporates data-driven analytic models. Her approach includes the use of multi-scale optimization models that integrate environmental science, engineering management, economics, ecology, and energy systems. Additionally, she employs other multidisciplinary approaches such as machine learning, complex networks, and input-output analysis to further understand the interacting mechanisms and feedback loops within these systems. Ultimately, she aims to develop cost-effective solutions and interventions to address the challenges faced by coupled human and environmental systems.

With the support of a number of national and local research projects (e.g., the key projects of NSFC, RGC, ECF), Prof. Zhang has published over 260 influential papers, some of which appeared in renowned journals such as Nature (comment), Nature Food, iScience, Energy, Applied Energy, Building and Environment.

Prof. Zhang holds several esteemed editorial positions, including the role of Co-Editor-in-Chief for Land Use Policy (published by Elsevier with an impact factor of 7.1). She also serves as an Associate Editor for npj Urban Sustainability (Nature partner series); Editor for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research (OLAR) (Science partner journal); Associate Editor for Developments in the Built Environment (published by Elsevier with an impact factor of 8.2).

Additionally, Prof. Zhang serves as a member on the RGC Humanities and Social Sciences Panel (Joint Research Schemes) and she is also a member of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution at the City University of Hong Kong.