Ethics are possibly the most important thing about being an engineer.
Just because we can make things doesn't mean that we should make things. Due to this, many engineering professional societies enforce ethical guidelines and advise their members to follow them ex NSPE and IEE.
"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out" - Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1800-1859
The Code of Hammurabi is one of the earliest known legal systems which codified a system of behavior for humans
The Marine Safety Code binds our merchants and naval officers to safe and ethical procedure to ensure successful voyages
The International Building Code maintains standards on the minimum required specifications for safe structures
Many societies enforce a "rejection of bribery" clause within their ethical guidelines
Institutions are required to form and institutional Review Board to determine whether or not the benefit of human tests outweighs the potential harm to participants. This board is not exclusive to engineering experiments and applies to Psychology, Medicine, and other fields as well.
Questions to ask yourself
Will this be used to improve human life
Can this be used for harm / to coerce non-consensual action
Do the benefits of my experiments outweigh the harm done to participants
Is my design adherent to the age appropriate design code
Important Symbol At Stevens
Our Torchbearer statue - symbolizes the passing on of ethics learning and values to future generations