When David Sternbergh teaches science to first- and second-graders in Fairfield, he shows them how the forces of nature draw a ball down a ramp.

This summer, however, his experience with science is a lot more complex. Sternbergh is spending the summer in a UC Davis laboratory where scientists are conducting stem cell research that ultimately could help people with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy.

He is part of a wave of scientific research rolling out across the nation, as money from the federal stimulus package trickles into universities.

The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Barack Obama in February included $21.5 billion for scientific endeavors and $33 million to create paid research positions this summer and next for students and science teachers. The goal is to fuel the economy with new jobs while supporting innovations in alternative energy and new medical cures.

All spring, university professors applied for the stimulus money. Little by little, they're starting to learn whether they've won grants. So far, about $8.35 million has been awarded to Sacramento-area universities, with about $8 million going to UC Davis and $350,000 to California State University, Sacramento.

Sacramento State professor Katherine McReynolds is using her stimulus funds to create summer research jobs for two college students and a high school student. McReynolds, a chemistry professor, studies sugar-based molecules that eventually could be used to create treatments for people with HIV.

"This would be another drug that could be used to prolong the lives and give the individuals who are infected a better life," she said.

"It could also potentially be used if someone had an accidental needle stick."

Another Sacramento State professor, Deidre Sessoms, is using stimulus funds to develop a program that would train more math and science teachers for area high schools. It's a collaboration between the college that trains teachers and the college that educates scientists.

UC Davis faculty sent in more than 400 applications for stimulus funds. So far, about 20 awards have been granted, said Carolyn Sawai of the UC Davis Office of Research.

A $2 million grant will allow a team of UC Davis scientists, led by chemical engineering professor Nigel Browning, to build a highly specialized microscope. It would be the first in the world capable of filming live biological processes and would allow scientists to observe and record what happens at the molecular level.

"A microscope with these capabilities will allow us to make milestone advances in our understanding of diseases such as cancer, bacterial or viral infections, and basic biological processes," Browning said in a news release.

An almost $1 million grant will fund research by a neurobiologist and a mathematician at UC Davis into how an animal's nervous system coordinates movements in various parts of the body.

"There's this big question in neuroscience: When we're walking, how does the body keep those two legs moving at the same time in the same way? How can we chew gum and wave to a friend?" said university spokeswoman Liese Greensfelder. "All of that coordination is a huge amount of work in the neurons."

By studying how crayfish move through water, professors Brian Mulloney and Timothy J. Lewis want to figure out how the spinal cord and brain stem are organized. Ultimately they hope their discoveries could lead to treatments for neural system diseases in humans.

In the UC Davis lab where Sternbergh is spending his summer, the elementary school instructor is more student than teacher. He watches college, graduate and postdoctoral students analyze stem cells from mice. One uses a device that looks like a sophisticated turkey baster to pull DNA from mouse tails out of tiny tubes and insert it in a tray of gel. Another looks at thin slivers of brain to compare the number of stem cells in a genetically modified mouse and a regular mouse.

It's a far cry from the simple lessons in gravity that Sternbergh teaches 7-year-olds during the school year. He's not sure yet how his experience in the Sacramento lab will translate to his classroom, but as an avid science buff, he's happy to have the job – even if he'll mostly be helping with administrative tasks.

"You want me to hang around with scientists all summer and learn about what they're doing?" Sternbergh said. "Where do I sign up?"

Wenbin Deng, the professor who oversees the lab on Stockton Boulevard, said he sought the $100,000 stimulus grant to give students and teachers a look at the work of professional scientists.

"I really wanted to promote career interest in biomedical science," he said. "And for teachers, I wanted to provide an opportunity for them to learn science firsthand so they can incorporate all this into their teaching when school starts."

Deng said he's thrilled that the federal government is putting so much money into science.

"This is a stimulus in terms of the spirit," he said, "which I think is great."

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Call The Bee's Laurel Rosenhall, (916) 321-1083.