Dr. Qian Zhang is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining at Queen's University in Canada. He leads a research group aiming to provide a roadmap of green mining in Canada and internationally through systems strategic management of sustainability and resilience challenges in the mining value chain.

Zhang is an industrial ecologist interested in low-carbon circular economy, material efficiency and criticality, environmental justice and systems engineering management. His research expertise concentrates on greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, carbon footprint analysis, and policy-oriented modelling of other environmental pressures (natural resource depletion, water scarcity, air pollution, solid waste, etc.) on the built environment by using analytical tools, such as input-output analysis, material flow analysis, and life-cycle assessment.

Previously, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow for the University of Victoria and the University of Tokyo. He has consulting experience in the area of climate and energy for the World Resources Institute (WRI), a reputable research NGO established in 1982 in the US.

Zhang holds a Ph.D. in Urban Engineering from the University of Tokyo, where he was awarded as a beneficiary of the Japanese government (MEXT) scholarship (2012-2015). He also earned a MSc in Environmental Science, a BSc in Environmental Science, and a Minor in Economics, all from Peking University.