diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index d1440cf..c48e1f5 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ Imports:
     purrr (>= 0.2.3),
     rlang (>= 0.1.2),  
     tibble (>= 1.3.4),
-    tidyr (>= 0.7.1)
+    tidyr (>= 0.7.1),
+    Rcpp (>= 0.12.12),
+    RcppArmadillo (>= 0.8.100.1.0)
 Suggests:
     DBI (>= 0.7),
     dbplyr (>= 1.1.0),
@@ -42,6 +44,9 @@ Suggests:
     RSQLite (>= 2.0),
     stringr (>= 1.2.0),
     testthat (>= 1.0.2)
+LinkingTo: 
+    Rcpp (>= 0.12.12),
+    RcppArmadillo (>= 0.8.100.1.0)
 VignetteBuilder: knitr
 URL: https://github.com/cytomining/cytominer
 BugReports: https://github.com/cytomining/cytominer/issues
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 9c3a06c..73a49c6 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -6,11 +6,14 @@ export(count_na_rows)
 export(covariance)
 export(drop_na_columns)
 export(drop_na_rows)
+export(entropy_feature_selection)
 export(extract_subpopulations)
 export(generalized_log)
 export(generate_component_matrix)
 export(normalize)
 export(replicate_correlation)
+export(score_features_sv_entropy)
+export(singular_value_entropy)
 export(sparse_random_projection)
 export(svd_entropy)
 export(transform)
@@ -18,6 +21,8 @@ export(variable_importance)
 export(variable_select)
 export(variance_threshold)
 export(whiten)
+exportPattern("^[[:alpha:]]+")
+importFrom(Rcpp,evalCpp)
 importFrom(Matrix,sparseMatrix)
 importFrom(foreach,"%dopar%")
 importFrom(magrittr,"%<>%")
@@ -32,3 +37,4 @@ importFrom(stats,rbinom)
 importFrom(stats,sd)
 importFrom(stats,setNames)
 importFrom(utils,find)
+useDynLib(cytominer)
diff --git a/R/RcppExports.R b/R/RcppExports.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..77f6a61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/RcppExports.R
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Generated by using Rcpp::compileAttributes() -> do not edit by hand
+# Generator token: 10BE3573-1514-4C36-9D1C-5A225CD40393
+
+#' singular_value_entropy
+#'
+#' Calculate the entropy of a matrix singular values (SV) in the SVD decomposition, when the SVs summation is normalized to one.
+#' @param A a matrix of any arbitrary size
+#' @return entropy of the normalized singular values using log base 10
+#'
+#' @export
+#'
+singular_value_entropy <- function(A) {
+    .Call('_cytominer_singular_value_entropy', PACKAGE = 'cytominer', A)
+}
+
+#' score_features_sv_entropy
+#'
+#' Scores each feature based on the difference of normalized SVs entropy of the data
+#' with and without the feature; the higher the difference, the more informative the
+#' feature would be.
+#' @param data a matrix which represents the dataset; columns and rows correspond to features and observations, respectively.
+#' @return vector containing scores for all the features, in the same order as the columns of data are arranged
+#'
+#' @export
+#'
+score_features_sv_entropy <- function(data) {
+    .Call('_cytominer_score_features_sv_entropy', PACKAGE = 'cytominer', data)
+}
+
diff --git a/R/cytominer.R b/R/cytominer.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..61c4222
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/cytominer.R
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+#' @useDynLib cytominer
+#' @importFrom Rcpp evalCpp
+#' @exportPattern "^[[:alpha:]]+"
+NULL
diff --git a/R/entropy_feature_selection.R b/R/entropy_feature_selection.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c258d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/entropy_feature_selection.R
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+#' Feature selection based on redundancy
+#' \code{entropy_feature_selection} is a feature selection method based on the entropy of data singular values
+#'
+#' @param population named tbl containing data, where columns and rows correspond to features (and/or metadata) and samples, respectively. Column names are assumed to be feature or metadata names.
+#' @param variables vector containing the names of numerical variables (or features) in the population.
+#' @param n_feature integer specifying number of features to be selected
+#'
+#' @importFrom magrittr %>%
+#'
+#' @return vector containing name of the features sorted based on their score, and the actual score values. Higher score means more informative feature.
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' population <- tibble::data_frame(
+#'    AreaShape_MinorAxisLength = c(10, 12, 15, 16, 8, 8, 7, 7, 13, 18),
+#'    AreaShape_MajorAxisLength = c(35, 18, 22, 16, 9, 20, 11, 15, 18, 42),
+#'    AreaShape_Area = c(245, 151, 231, 179, 50, 112, 53, 73, 164, 529)
+#'  )
+#' variables <- c("AreaShape_MinorAxisLength", "AreaShape_MajorAxisLength", "AreaShape_Area")
+#' entropy_feature_selection(population, variables, 2)
+#'
+#' @export
+entropy_feature_selection <- function(population, variables, n_feature) {
+
+  population_data <- population %>%
+    dplyr::select(dplyr::one_of(variables)) %>%
+    dplyr::collect() %>%
+    as.matrix()
+
+
+  # working with the matrix inner product; as it would be computationally more efficient for large number of samples
+  feat_inner_prods <- crossprod(population_data, population_data)
+
+  entropy_score <- score_features_sv_entropy(feat_inner_prods)
+
+  feat_rank <- order(entropy_score, decreasing = T)
+
+  return(list(features = colnames(population_data)[feat_rank[1:n_feature]],
+              entropy_score = entropy_score[feat_rank[1:n_feature]]))
+}
diff --git a/R/variable_select.R b/R/variable_select.R
index 671acbe..567ed84 100644
--- a/R/variable_select.R
+++ b/R/variable_select.R
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@ variable_select <- function(population, variables, sample = NULL,
     excluded <- correlation_threshold(variables, sample, ...)
   } else if (operation == "drop_na_columns") {
     excluded <- drop_na_columns(population, variables, ...)
+  } else if (operation == "entropy_based") {
+    included <- entropy_feature_selection(population, variables, ...)[["features"]]
+    excluded <- setdiff(variables, included)
   } else {
     error <- paste0("undefined operation `", operation, "'")
 
diff --git a/man/entropy_feature_selection.Rd b/man/entropy_feature_selection.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ec5bc4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/entropy_feature_selection.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/entropy_feature_selection.R
+\name{entropy_feature_selection}
+\alias{entropy_feature_selection}
+\title{Feature selection based on redundancy
+\code{entropy_feature_selection} is a feature selection method based on the entropy of data singular values}
+\usage{
+entropy_feature_selection(population, variables, n_feature)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{population}{named tbl containing data, where columns and rows correspond to features (and/or metadata) and samples, respectively. Column names are assumed to be feature or metadata names.}
+
+\item{variables}{vector containing the names of numerical variables (or features) in the population.}
+
+\item{n_feature}{integer specifying number of features to be selected}
+}
+\value{
+vector containing name of the features sorted based on their score, and the actual score values. Higher score means more informative feature.
+}
+\description{
+Feature selection based on redundancy
+\code{entropy_feature_selection} is a feature selection method based on the entropy of data singular values
+}
+\examples{
+population <- tibble::data_frame(
+   AreaShape_MinorAxisLength = c(10, 12, 15, 16, 8, 8, 7, 7, 13, 18),
+   AreaShape_MajorAxisLength = c(35, 18, 22, 16, 9, 20, 11, 15, 18, 42),
+   AreaShape_Area = c(245, 151, 231, 179, 50, 112, 53, 73, 164, 529)
+ )
+variables <- c("AreaShape_MinorAxisLength", "AreaShape_MajorAxisLength", "AreaShape_Area")
+entropy_feature_selection(population, variables, 2)
+
+}
diff --git a/man/score_features_sv_entropy.Rd b/man/score_features_sv_entropy.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..797694b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/score_features_sv_entropy.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/RcppExports.R
+\name{score_features_sv_entropy}
+\alias{score_features_sv_entropy}
+\title{score_features_sv_entropy}
+\usage{
+score_features_sv_entropy(data)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{data}{a matrix which represents the dataset; columns and rows correspond to features and observations, respectively.}
+}
+\value{
+vector containing scores for all the features, in the same order as the columns of data are arranged
+}
+\description{
+Scores each feature based on the difference of normalized SVs entropy of the data
+with and without the feature; the higher the difference, the more informative the
+feature would be.
+}
diff --git a/man/singular_value_entropy.Rd b/man/singular_value_entropy.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..48b85c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/singular_value_entropy.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/RcppExports.R
+\name{singular_value_entropy}
+\alias{singular_value_entropy}
+\title{singular_value_entropy}
+\usage{
+singular_value_entropy(A)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{A}{a matrix of any arbitrary size}
+}
+\value{
+entropy of the normalized singular values using log base 10
+}
+\description{
+Calculate the entropy of a matrix singular values (SV) in the SVD decomposition, when the SVs summation is normalized to one.
+}
diff --git a/src/Makevars b/src/Makevars
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d26f652
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Makevars
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+
+## optional
+#CXX_STD = CXX11
+
+PKG_CXXFLAGS = $(SHLIB_OPENMP_CXXFLAGS) 
+PKG_LIBS = $(SHLIB_OPENMP_CFLAGS) $(LAPACK_LIBS) $(BLAS_LIBS) $(FLIBS)
diff --git a/src/Makevars.win b/src/Makevars.win
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d26f652
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Makevars.win
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+
+## optional
+#CXX_STD = CXX11
+
+PKG_CXXFLAGS = $(SHLIB_OPENMP_CXXFLAGS) 
+PKG_LIBS = $(SHLIB_OPENMP_CFLAGS) $(LAPACK_LIBS) $(BLAS_LIBS) $(FLIBS)
diff --git a/src/RcppExports.cpp b/src/RcppExports.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..414419c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/RcppExports.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+// Generated by using Rcpp::compileAttributes() -> do not edit by hand
+// Generator token: 10BE3573-1514-4C36-9D1C-5A225CD40393
+
+#include <RcppArmadillo.h>
+#include <Rcpp.h>
+
+using namespace Rcpp;
+
+// singular_value_entropy
+double singular_value_entropy(arma::mat A);
+RcppExport SEXP _cytominer_singular_value_entropy(SEXP ASEXP) {
+BEGIN_RCPP
+    Rcpp::RObject rcpp_result_gen;
+    Rcpp::RNGScope rcpp_rngScope_gen;
+    Rcpp::traits::input_parameter< arma::mat >::type A(ASEXP);
+    rcpp_result_gen = Rcpp::wrap(singular_value_entropy(A));
+    return rcpp_result_gen;
+END_RCPP
+}
+// score_features_sv_entropy
+NumericVector score_features_sv_entropy(NumericMatrix data);
+RcppExport SEXP _cytominer_score_features_sv_entropy(SEXP dataSEXP) {
+BEGIN_RCPP
+    Rcpp::RObject rcpp_result_gen;
+    Rcpp::RNGScope rcpp_rngScope_gen;
+    Rcpp::traits::input_parameter< NumericMatrix >::type data(dataSEXP);
+    rcpp_result_gen = Rcpp::wrap(score_features_sv_entropy(data));
+    return rcpp_result_gen;
+END_RCPP
+}
+
+static const R_CallMethodDef CallEntries[] = {
+    {"_cytominer_singular_value_entropy", (DL_FUNC) &_cytominer_singular_value_entropy, 1},
+    {"_cytominer_score_features_sv_entropy", (DL_FUNC) &_cytominer_score_features_sv_entropy, 1},
+    {NULL, NULL, 0}
+};
+
+RcppExport void R_init_cytominer(DllInfo *dll) {
+    R_registerRoutines(dll, NULL, CallEntries, NULL, NULL);
+    R_useDynamicSymbols(dll, FALSE);
+}
diff --git a/src/entropy_feature_selection.cpp b/src/entropy_feature_selection.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c65e11b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/entropy_feature_selection.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+#include "RcppArmadillo.h"
+// [[Rcpp::depends(RcppArmadillo)]]
+
+#include <iostream>
+
+using namespace Rcpp;
+using namespace std;
+using namespace arma;
+
+
+//' singular_value_entropy
+//'
+//' Calculate the entropy of a matrix singular values (SV) in the SVD decomposition, when the SVs summation is normalized to one.
+//' @param A a matrix of any arbitrary size
+//' @return entropy of the normalized singular values using log base 10
+//'
+//' @export
+//'
+// [[Rcpp::export]]
+double singular_value_entropy(arma::mat A) {
+
+  // calculate the svd
+  vec singular_values = svd(A);
+
+  // normalize relative values
+  vec singular_values_nrm = singular_values/sum(singular_values);
+
+  // calculate the entropy for values greater than 0 (to avoid log(0))
+  arma::vec sv_nonzero = singular_values_nrm.elem(find(singular_values_nrm > 0));
+  double sv_entropy = -sum(sv_nonzero % log(sv_nonzero))/log(10);
+
+  return sv_entropy;
+}
+
+//' score_features_sv_entropy
+//'
+//' Scores each feature based on the difference of normalized SVs entropy of the data
+//' with and without the feature; the higher the difference, the more informative the
+//' feature would be.
+//' @param data a matrix which represents the dataset; columns and rows correspond to features and observations, respectively.
+//' @return vector containing scores for all the features, in the same order as the columns of data are arranged
+//'
+//' @export
+//'
+// [[Rcpp::export]]
+NumericVector score_features_sv_entropy(NumericMatrix data){
+
+  // convert into matrix (armadillo)
+  mat data_mat(data.begin(), data.nrow(), data.ncol(), false);
+
+  // total entropy
+  double sv_entropy_orig = singular_value_entropy(data_mat);
+
+  // vector of contribution to the entropy by on a leave-a-feature-out basis
+  NumericVector sv_entropy(data.nrow());
+
+  // for each feature calculate the contribution to the entropy by leaving that feature out
+  for(unsigned int i = 0; i < data.nrow(); i++){
+
+    mat data_mat_i = data_mat;
+
+    // remove the row and column i
+    data_mat_i.shed_row(i);
+    data_mat_i.shed_col(i);
+
+    double sv_entropy_i = singular_value_entropy(data_mat_i);
+    sv_entropy[i] = sv_entropy_orig - sv_entropy_i;
+  }
+
+  return(sv_entropy);
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-entropy_feature_selection.R b/tests/testthat/test-entropy_feature_selection.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ec5debe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-entropy_feature_selection.R
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+context("entropy_feature_selection")
+
+test_that("`entropy_feature_selection` selects features based on the singular values entropy", {
+
+  set.seed(24)
+  xa <- rnorm(5)
+  xb <- rnorm(5)
+  ya <- rnorm(5)
+  yb <- rnorm(5)
+
+  data <-
+    rbind(
+      data.frame(g = "a", x = xa, y = ya, z = xa + ya),
+      data.frame(g = "b", x = xb, y = yb, z = xb + yb)
+    )
+
+  db <- DBI::dbConnect(RSQLite::SQLite(), ":memory:")
+
+  RSQLite::initExtension(db)
+
+  data <- dplyr::copy_to(db, data)
+
+  expect_equal(
+    sort(entropy_feature_selection(population = data, variables = c("x", "y", "z"), n_feature = 2)[["features"]],
+         decreasing = F),
+    c("x", "y")
+  )
+
+  DBI::dbDisconnect(db)
+
+})