Philip Kesten is an associate professor of physics at Santa Clara University.

Kesten earned his B.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his Ph.D. in high energy particle physics from the University of Michigan.  He was a member of the experimental collaboration at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory that announced the discovery of the top quark in 1994.

Since joining the Santa Clara faculty in 1990, Kesten has served as the chairman of the Department of Physics, the associate provost for the Residential Learning Communities Program, and director of the Ricard Memorial Observatory. He has received University awards for teaching excellence and curriculum innovation, including the 1999 David E. Logothetti Teaching Award, the 2006 Louis and Dorina Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence, and the 2009 Dr. John B. Drahmann Advising Award. Kesten was named the California Professor of the Year in 2005 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education. He holds two U.S. patents, and has published two internationally acclaimed physics textbooks. Kesten has also served as the senior editor for Modern Dad, a newsstand magazine, and was co-founder of the internet software company Docutek, a SirsiDynix company.