I think the next step for physics could be potentially in establishing the link between abstract information and what is perceived as "real matter".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization
Forms can be quantified by the entropy with respect to its component parts -- generally, the more ordered, the less entropy. Constructing things broadly corresponds to reducing the entropy of the set of configurations of the components.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_physics
For a computation focused example, see Schneier's essay on strength of a 256-bit symmetric cipher:
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/09/the_doghouse_...
Edit for completeness: rest energy converts to mass as follows: E = m*c^2