DISORDER and noise in physical systems usually tend to destroy spatial
and temporal regularity, but recent research into nonlinear systems p
rovides intriguing counter-examples. In the phenomenon of stochastic r
esonance(1), for example, the presence of noise improves the ability o
f some nonlinear systems to transfer information reliably. Noise can a
lso remove chaos in a model oscillator(2), and facilitate synchronizat
ion in an extended array of bistable elements(3). Here we explore the
use of disorder as a means to control spatiotemporal chaos(4-8) in cou
pled arrays of forced, damped, nonlinear oscillators. Chaotic behaviou
r in spatially extended systems, especially in biology and physiology(
9,10), might be amenable to control, as occurs in low-dimensional temp
orally chaotic systems(11,12). In our numerical experiments, one- and
two-dimensional arrays of identical oscillators behave chaotically, bu
t the introduction of slight, uncorrelated differences between the osc
illators induces ordered motion characterized by complex but regular s
patiotemporal patterns.