Lodwrick M. (Lod) Cook, vice chairman and managing director of Pacific Capital Group and former chairman and CEO of Atlantic Richfield Co., now BP Amoco, has recently joined the board of directors of Sabeus Sensor Systems, which makes fiber optic sensors used to find and exploit oil and gas reservoirs, particularly in harsh or difficult-to-service environments. Sabeus invented a process to create such sensors, for which it won Laurin Publishing's 2002 Photonics Circle of Excellence Award.   . . .   The Nortel Institute for Telecommunications of the University of Toronto opened last month with a tour of its 1100-square-meter facility. It features nine laboratories that can accommodate more than 100 research projects. The $40-million institute offers scientists from academia, government and industry access to high-tech equipment and technical expertise for research and development, focusing on lasers, microwave and wireless networks and advanced artificial materials.   . . .   Electronic component distributor Sager Electronics has announced a new distribution agreement with Samsung Electro-Mechanics America Inc. (SEMAI), a manufacturer of passives, RF components, advanced circuit interconnects and digital products. Sager has been franchised to distribute SEMAI's multilayer ceramic chip capacitors, tantalum chip capacitors, chip resistors and filtered devices.