He was a specialist in hydraulic engineering, professor and vice president of Tsinghua University, and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.
[2][3] Zhang graduated from National Chiao Tung University (now Shanghai Jiao Tong University) in 1934,[2] obtained his master's degree in Civil Engineering from University of California, Berkeley in 1936, and a master's degree in engineering mechanics from Harvard University in 1937.
[3] Zhang was the chief designer of the Miyun Reservoir and Yuzixi powerplant.
He was also involved in the design of many major hydraulic and hydropower projects, including Sanmenxia, Danjiangkou, Gezhouba, Ertan, Geheyan, Xiaolangdi, and the Three Gorges Dam.
[2] He was also elected as a foreign member of Mexico National Academy of Engineering in 1981.