He is best known for being the coauthor, along with Daniel Kleppner, of a popular undergraduate physics textbook, An Introduction to Mechanics.
Kolenkow did his undergraduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 1955.
His departure in 1971 generated some controversy on campus; he was regarded as an excellent teacher by his students, however, the administration was viewed as being more concerned about research than education when making its tenure decisions.
Kolenkow became a professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
He also co-authored a textbook on physical geography which was favorably reviewed.