Go for it, I might submit something to it sometime. I am finishing my PhD in math/computer science, but I thought I would shift into this area instead, as it is more attuned to my current interests.
I think this is the natural direction that pragmatic dharma leans to.
I'm not really in the field just yet, but I hereby step forward and volunteer for technical support in setting up an open access journal (which would require
reading about it, and use
some sort of freely-available software).
One thing that I think would get the field started is something along the lines of your "mind training terms," where phenomena that arise during mind training would be catalogued. Once that exists and is extensive and established and high-quality, you can do all sorts of interesting, measurable stuff, such as:
"Frequency of <phenomenon category XXX> in 10-20 day insight retreats, a comparison of Mahasi-style noting vs Goenka-style body scanning," could be carried out by simple daily or twice-daily questionares, or
"A methodology to bring about <meditative state XYZ>" could be described using a decision tree of some kind ("if practitioner reports that he still can not stay with the breath, then he can proceed by bla bla bla; if practitioner experiences <phenomenon ZZZ>, he should direct the mind thus: ..."
That kind of thing, which if done carefully and rigorously can be really deep and have real impact in practices, but doesn't even need fancy equipment like EEGs and fMRIs.
The major setback to this kind of thing that I can see is getting the data. In order to do these studies you need access to A LOT of practitioners, and practitioners that do specific practices in controlled settings with people who know what they are doing. In order to have such a setting you need (1) people who are highly trained and know what they are doing and are being paid to do it, and (2) people who are willing to meditate their ass off. This requires funding, and volunteers.