  The problem of controlling and stabilising solutions to the
Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation is studied in this paper. We consider a
generalised form of the equation in which the effects of an electric field and
dispersion are included. Both the feedback and optimal control problems are
studied. We prove that we can control arbitrary nontrivial steady states of the
Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation, including travelling wave solutions, using a
finite number of point actuators. The number of point actuators needed is
related to the number of unstable modes of the equation. Furthermore, the
proposed control methodology is shown to be robust with respect to changing the
parameters in the equation, e.g. the viscosity coefficient or the intensity of
the electric field. We also study the problem of controlling solutions of
coupled systems of Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equations. Possible applications to
controlling thin film flows are discussed. Our rigorous results are supported
by extensive numerical simulations.
