I'm looking for a 9 letter answer......  who or what helped with the
polarization of light?

I hope this is in regards to a crossword puzzle:

a polarizer? (oops, is that cheating?)

dichroism?

Try BARTHOLIN. Let me know if this works, and I'll be glad to repost
it as your official answer.

"The first clues to the existence of polarized light surfaced around
1669 when Erasmus Bartholin discovered that crystals of the mineral
Iceland spar (more commonly referred to as calcite) produce a double
image when objects are viewed through the crystals in transmitted
light."

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/lightandcolor/polarizedlighthome.html

If two words are acceptable, I suspect "Edwin Land" might be the
correct answer.  He invented "polaroid" film at the age of 17, and, of
course, went on to found the Polaroid Corporation.  See
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/land.htm

"asymmetry" could be another answer if you want a "what."

I think it was Bartholini (or bartholinus).. not 9 letters.

could be "brewster's" (angle).
Or perhaps "refraction" (as in the index of.).

i guess i cant count either...