A forensics researcher is hoping to gain insight to help authorities solve murder cases and other suspicious deaths when an abandoned house near Barrie is intentionally torched this weekend – with about a dozen dead pigs inside.

Sherah VanLaerhoven, an associate professor in Biological Sciences and the academic chair of the Forensic Sciences program, will participate in a joint training exercise and research experiment with the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and the local fire department in Springwater, a small town located just north of Barrie.

Authorities will light the house on fire on Saturday at about 9 a.m. Inside will be about a dozen dead pigs.

Dr. VanLaerhoven, one of only two forensic entomologists in Canada, analyzes how insects colonize dead bodies. Because certain bugs make their homes in bodies at various stages of decomposition, the information she can gather is critical for helping determine time of death.

VanLaerhoven is working on the project with fourth-year student Vince Pacheco. They'll place six dead pigs in the house; three of them will be wrapped in blankets, the others unwrapped. The point of the experiment is to determine whether being wrapped in clothing affects how the colonized insects react to their host being burned.

VanLaerhoven said the information will be useful to have because many criminals return to sites where they’ve disposed of bodies and burn them in hopes of destroying evidence. More insects than you might think remain even after a body is burned, she says: “You’d be really surprised.”

VanLaerhoven said a graduate student researcher from UOIT will also have three to six dead pigs inside the house and will be trying to determine whether accelerants can be recovered from tissue after a body has been burned. The information gained from that experiment could prove useful for future joint arson and murder investigations, she said.

It has been a Windsor tradition since 1976, and the Festival of Christmas choral concert is guaranteed to get you into the holiday spirit.

The University of Windsor School of Music presents the event on Sunday, December 4, at 3 p.m. at Assumption Church, featuring the glorious voices of the University Singers and the Chamber Choir, accompanied by pianist Alde Calongcagong, harpist Deborah Gabrion, and organist David Palmer.

Enjoy a concert of Christmas music from around the world and through the centuries and be prepared to join the carol sing-along. Assumption Church is located at 350 Huron Church Road.

Tickets are $10, with a student rate of $5. Order by phone at 519-253-3000, ext. 4212, or purchase online at www.uwindsor.ca/music. Find more information, including a complete program, on the music Web site.

Two senior students will share their placement experiences in a free public presentation called Music Therapy Wintersong, on Thursday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall.

Cindy Detmar served practicum placements this fall at Windsor Regional Hospital’s Met Campus, working with paediatric patients; and at LaSalle’s St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School, in the life skills class with students who have developmental disabilities. In January, she will begin a six-month music therapy internship working in schools in and around the Windsor area.

Rebecca Wright will discuss her four practicum placements – in private practice and at Rose Garden Villa, Baycrest Hospital and Windsor Regional Hospital. She has held an Outstanding Scholars award throughout her four years of university study.

“I will be talking about all of the populations that I have worked with, the people I have worked with, and all of the great lessons I have learned!” she said.

Read brief biographies of each of these students on the School of Music Web site.

John Lam knows a deal when he sees one. The first-year business student won yesterday’s DailyNews contest and earned two free tickets to the University Jazz Ensemble’s fall concert, Friday, December 2, at 7:30 p.m., in at Banwell Community Church.

Lam’s name was drawn from all respondents who correctly identified the trombone as a brass instrument, “in the meadow we can build a snowman” as lyrics in Winter Wonderland, and a six-person combo as a sextet.

Tickets to Friday’s concert are $10 general admission and $5 for students, available in advance by phone at 519-253-3000, ext. 4212; or online at www.uwindsor.ca/music. Tickets also available at the door. Find more information on the music Web site.

Tis the season for goodwill toward men, but a group of Windsor Law students doesn’t want to exclude man’s best friends. The Student Animal Legal Defence Fund is collecting donations for the Windsor-Essex County Humane society.

In just a few days, the group has already gathered one bin full of cleaning supplies and food items for the shelter, which provides refuge for pets who have been lost, abandoned, or abused.

“Donations in kind help the animals on a day-to-day basis while they’re waiting to be adopted,” says third-year law student Waheeda Ekhlas Smith, president of the fund’s Windsor chapter. “We have been told that the shelter is very full of dogs and cats, so donations will come in handy.”

A box to collect donations is set up in the lower level of the Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law Building. The society will accept pet foods and toys, towels and blankets, and cleaning supplies. Find a detailed wish list on its Web site.

A free public reception on Friday, December 2, will celebrate the closing of Awkward (in) tension – the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts graduate group exhibition, now on display in the LeBel Building’s Project Gallery.

Participating artists include Teresa Carlesimo, Jillian Fergusson, Arturo Herrera and Lindsay Whalen. Friday’s reception begins at 7 p.m.

Students in the School of Visual Arts will also join artists worldwide in observing World AIDS Day with a Day Without Art on Thursday, December 1. The event is meant to focus attention on the profound impact the loss of artists to the disease have had on the world arts community.

A group of students from the Odette School of Business raised more than $800 for the United Way by throwing a pasta dinner earlier this month.

“Our event was a success,” says business major Karen Gorospe. In addition to a presentation by Danielle Moldovan, the charity’s manager of resource development, it featured a performance by local band Cake & Bacon. “We had a great time.”

Roxanne Decyk, retired executive vice president of global government relations for Royal Dutch Shell, will offer her “Observations and recommendations to help companies become winners in the competitive global market,” as the next instalment of the Odette School of Business Breakfast with Champions speaker series, Monday, December 5.

Decyk retired in December 2010 from the oil, gas, chemical and refined petroleum products company, where she oversaw all U.S. media relations, communications, advertising, government relations and human resources.

Her extensive experience in communications and corporate strategy experience, reputation and brand strategy, international business, sales, marketing, mergers and acquisitions, strategy development, executive compensation and leadership development have placed her among the handful of women who have reached the upper echelons of corporate America.

Monday’s event will begin with a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m., follow with the presentation and discussion at 8 a.m., and conclude by 9 a.m. at the Caboto Club, 2175 Parent Avenue at Tecumseh Road.

The Breakfast with Champions speaker series is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. RSVP by December 1 on a first-come, first-served basis to Barbara Barone at 519-971-3678 or e-mail bbarone@uwindsor.ca.

A champagne and orange juice celebratory breakfast in support of Lancer women's basketball will give fans a chance to meet the players and head coach Chantal Vallée, Sunday, December 4, at 10 a.m. in Ambassador Auditorium.

The event is a fundraiser for the team, which won its first-ever national championship last season.

“The money we raise at the breakfast helps to cover so many costs of competition,” Vallée says. “We count on an excellent showing there to make ends meet.”

Tickets are available in two price categories:

• $120 tickets include a $100 tax receipt and recognition at the event
• $40 tickets include a $20 tax receipt.

For tickets, please call special events manager Mary-Ann Rennie at 519-253-3000, ext. 7059, or e-mail mrennie@uwindsor.ca.

The Lancer women's basketball team celebrates its first-ever national championship.

Faculty, staff, and retired members of the University of Windsor retirement pension plans are invited to attend the annual open pension meeting, Thursday, December 1, at 3 p.m. in the Freed-Orman Conference Centre of Assumption University. Representatives from the university’s actuarial firm, Mercer, and the investment management firms will make presentations on the university’s retirement pension funds.

Pay parking is available in the Assumption Parking Lot on University Avenue or in the pay and display lot south of Assumption University on Huron Church Road.