Reuters - Janet Yellen will be the next Fed Chairman- and the first woman to head the U.S. central bank in its 100 year history.

Her challenges are unprecedented, says Professor Mark Thoma of the University of Oregon:

SOUNDBITE: MARK THOMA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON (ENGLISH) SAYING:

"Bernanke faced a lot of the similar challenges when he took over so I think that it's very similar in that regard but he was mainly managing the downturn and trying to get the economy turning around and she is managing the landing that we are going to have and trying to make that as smooth as possible. I can't think of another Fed Chair that has faced challenges that are as important and as big as she is facing right now."

Specifically, winding down the Fed's extreme bond buying program- which the Fed is starting to taper this month.

SOUNDBITE: MARK THOMA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON (ENGLISH) SAYING:

"Getting the timing right, getting the magnitudes right. All those sorts of things. She'll be judged in the future quite a bit by how she manages the exit from QE and also how well she manages once they start increasing the Federal Funds rate how well that goes, how fast they do it."

And how she lets the markets know what to expect:

Moody's Analytics Ryan Sweet:

SOUNDBITE: RYAN SWEET, DIRECTOR, MOODY'S ANALYTICS (ENGLISH) SAYING:

"The one thing I think Yellen will continue to do is improve the central banks' communication strategy. Bernanke really got that jump started over the last few years and I think Yellen will continue with that going forward."

Yellen takes over for Bernanke when his second four-year term ends on January 31st.