Another way to warm up a research meeting request is to reference something the person said, either in a presentation or an article...
"Hello Frank, my name is Mike Jones, and I am with AZT. The reason I am calling is this - I have been doing some homework on your organization and I was struck by what you recently said at the recent Innovation Roundtable. I could gain a lot from your perspective and am wondering if you have 20-30 minutes in the next couple of weeks where we could meet and I could confirm some things I've learned. What would be a convenient day and time for you?"