Most of the listed researchers are located within universities or government research facilities. Encyclopedia of Associations. Searchable by name and subject. This is the grandfather of association and society listings. DTIC's Technical Report collection includes all unclassified DoD sponsored technical report citations since 1974.
Some reports are available full-text online.
Patents also provide the legal description of what was protected. These are a good source of original, non-obvious technical solutions to problems as seen through an inventor's eyes. See also regulations and standards.